Cocaine

The global area under coca cultivation amounted to 155,600 ha (hectares) in 2011, almost unchanged from a year earlier but 14 per cent lower than in 2007 and 30 per cent less than in 2000. Estimates of the amounts of cocaine manufactured, expressed in quantities of 100 per cent pure cocaine, ranged from 776 to 1,051 tons in 2011, largely unchanged from a year earlier. The world’s largest cocaine seizures (not adjusted for purity) continue to be reported from Colombia (200 tons) and the United States (94 tons). However, there has been an indication in recent years that the cocaine market has been shifting to several regions which have not been associated previously with either trafficking or use. Significant increases have been noted in Asia, Oceania and Central and South America, intensified competition in trafficking of cocaine has led to growing levels of violence.

Amphetamine-type stimulants

There are signs that the market for amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is expanding: seizures and consumption levels are increasing, manufacture seems to be spreading and new markets are developing.

The use of ATS, excluding “ecstasy”, remains widespread globally, and appears to be increasing in most regions. In 2011, an estimated 0.7 per cent of the global population aged 15-64, or 33.8 million, had used ATS in the preceding year. The prevalence of “ecstasy” in 2011 (19.4 million, or 0.4 per cent of the population) was lower than in 2009.

Cannabis

Providing a global picture of levels of cannabis cultivation and production remains a difficult task: although cannabis is produced in practically every country in the world, its cultivation is largely localized and, more often than not, feeds local markets.

Cannabis remains the most widely used illicit substance. There was a minor increase in the prevalence of cannabis users (180.6 million or 3.9 per cent of the population aged 15-64) as compared with previous estimates in 2009.

The areas of cannabis increased in the United States, possibly indicating an increase in the area under cultivation. Cultivation also seems to have gone up in the Americas as a whole. In South America, reported cannabis herb seizures rose by 46 per cent in 2011.