VIENNA –
A United Nations report on Monday said places including US states that have legalized cannabis appear to have increased its regular use, while COVID lockdowns have had a similar effect. , increases the risk of depression and suicide.
Cannabis has long been the most widely used drug in the world and its use is increasing while the cannabis on the market is getting stronger for its tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, the United Nations Office Nation on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in World Annual. Drug Report.
Many US states have legalized the use of non-medical cannabis, starting with Washington and Colorado in 2012. Uruguay legalized it in 2013, as did Canada in 2018. Other states also did. takes similar steps but the report focuses on those three countries.
The Vienna-based UNODC report said: “The legalization of cannabis appears to have fueled the upward trend in reported daily drug use.
Although rates of cannabis use among adolescents “didn’t change much,” there was “a marked increase in reported frequent use of high-potency products among young adults,” the report said.
“The proportion of people with psychosis and suicides related to regular cannabis use has increased.”
The report says about 284 million people, or 5.6% of the world’s population, used drugs such as heroin, cocaine, amphetamines or ecstasy in 2020, the most recent figures available. Of these, 209 million were used marijuana.
“During the shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased cannabis use … in 2020,” it said.
It added that cocaine production will hit a record in 2020 and seaborne trade is on the rise, with seizure data for 2021 showing an expansion outside of its two main markets, North America and Europe, into Africa and Asia.
Opioids remain the most lethal drug, with fentanyl driving the number of overdose deaths in the US to a new record: the interim estimate for 2021 is 107,622.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
