The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) says around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 per cent from 2010.

The latest annual report released on Thursday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, also provides an overview of global drug markets, as well as their impact on people’s health and livelihoods.

According to UNODC’s World Drug Report 2021, cannabis potency has quadrupled in some parts of the world over the last two decades, while the percentage of adolescents who perceived the drug as harmful fell by as much as 40 per cent.

This perception gap prevails despite evidence that cannabis use is associated with a variety of health and other harms, especially among regular long-term users.

Sankulleh Janko reports.