Ukraine war can increase illegal drug production: UN

The United Nations issued a warning on Monday that the conflict in Ukraine might encourage the growth of the illicit drug trade and that the future of the opium trade depends on how Afghanistan, which is now experiencing a crisis, turns out.

The United Nations Office on Narcotics and Crime (UNODC) stated in its annual report that past experience from the Middle East and Southeast Asia indicated that war zones might operate as a “magnet” for manufacturing synthetic drugs, which can be produced anywhere.

When a war zone is close to significant consumer markets, the impact might be larger.

According to the UNODC, the number of destroyed amphetamine labs in Ukraine increased from 17 in 2019 to 79 in 2020, making it the nation with the highest recorded total of confiscated laboratories for the year.

As the fight goes on, Ukraine’s potential to make synthetic pharmaceuticals may increase, it noted.

In crisis zones, “you don’t have police running around and stopping laboratories,” UNODC specialist Angela Me told the media.

Along with the idea that trafficking in Ukraine has decreased since early 2022, the research also mentioned how war might alter and disrupt routes used for drug trafficking.

According to the UN research, Afghanistan, which generated 86% of the world’s opium in 2021, will have an impact on how the opiate market develops.

It said that despite the Taliban authorities’ April ban on the practice, the country’s humanitarian situation would encourage the clandestine growth of opium poppies.

According to the UN, “Changes in Afghanistan’s opium output will have effects on opiate markets in almost every corner of the world.”

According to the research, 284 million individuals, or one in every 18 persons in the globe between the ages of 15 and 64, took drugs in 2021.

The amount was 26% larger than it was in 2010, although population growth was only partially responsible for the increase.

With 1,982 tons produced in 2020, cocaine output increased to a new high.

Despite the fact that males used the majority of drugs, Me said that women were underrepresented in treatment and extensively utilized stimulants similar to amphetamine.

“For them, it carries two stigmas. They are also exposing themselves by going there “she informed the press.

“We have provided a proposal on safety and how to guarantee that the centers can receive children,”

The UNODC report was built using data acquired from member nations, internal sources, and analysis of institutional reports, media coverage, and open-source data.