Synthetic drug boom fuels illicit markets worldwide: UN

The cheap, easy, and fast production of synthetic drugs have radically transformed illicit drug markets around the world, with "lethal results," the United Nations warned on Sunday.

While more people are battling drug addiction, criminals continue to exploit conflicts and global crises to expand drug production, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in its annual report. Globally, more than 296 million people used drugs in 2021, amounting to an increase of 23 percent over the previous decade, the report found.