(Bloomberg) – Australia and New Zealand are the largest cocaine users in the world because global consumption of illicit drugs will achieve a record maximum, the UN for drugs and crime in its latest report said.
While more people use cocaine in America than anywhere else, Capita’s consumption is the most common in Australia and New Zealand, according to the world report on drugs 2025. Waste water analysis suggests that most people use cocaine only occasionally, reports.
About 3% of those aged 15 to 64 in Australia and New Zealand used cocaine in 2023, it is reported. This is almost twice the share in America and almost triples the percentage in Europe-the largest consumers of the drug, the report said.
The report was painting the bleak image of the worldwide battle against illegal drugs and the criminals behind them and stated that the new era of global instability had intensified this challenge. The volumes of production, seizures and the use of cocaine all hit all records in 2023, making it the fastest growing illegal drug market, the UN said. A total of 316 million people used illegal drugs during this period.
“Organized drug trafficking groups continue to adapt, using global crises and target vulnerable populations,” said Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC. “We have to invest in prevention and solve the main causes of drug trafficking at any point of the illegal supply chain.”
Cocaine merchants break into new regions of Asia and Africa. The relative wealth of Australia and the price that users in the country is willing to pay for drugs has made it an attractive market for criminals. The large coast of the country also makes it difficult to capture illegal consignments.
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In December, the Australian federal police withdrew recorded cocaine seizures as they revealed an attempt to import 2.34 tonnes of drugs into the ground by sea. Cocaine had a street value of $ 760 million ($ 496 million) with the potential to cope with 11.7 million street stores, the authorities said. Thirteen people were accused.
The UN report states that cannabis remains the most used drug in the world with 244 million users, which represents 4.6% of the global population aged 15 to 64 years. In Australia and New Zealand, the prevalence of cannabis use was reported to more than 12%, reported in the report.
Using ecstasy – also known as Molly or MDMA – in Australia and New Zealand, it remained by far the highest around the world.
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