Global illicit drug use remains stable: UN drugs and crime office

The number of people who use illicit drugs worldwide remained stable, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated in its 2015 World Drug Report on Friday.

The UNODC said an estimated 246 million people used an illicit drug in 2013, the year its latest statistics are drawn from, making up slightly over five percent of all persons aged between 15 and 64 years of age.

About 27 million people globally are considered problem drug users, half of whom inject their drugs. Additionally, the UNODC noted that men are three times more likely to use cannabis, cocaine, and amphetamines, while women have a greater tendency to misuse prescription opioids and tranquillizers.

The Vienna-based UN office also said there were 187,100 drug-related deaths in 2013.

Speaking in light of the report and on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, UNODC executive director Yury Fedotov said that while drug use has remained stable, only one out of six persons has access to treatment.

This is particularly evident in women, he said, with one in three drug users being female, though they make up only one in five persons in treatment.

Fedotov also called for increased understanding for drug dependence as a chronic condition, and that as such it requires long-term and sustained treatment and care. Endit