Addicts and consumers of illegal drugs worldwide 1990-2021

In 2021, it was estimated that around 296 million people worldwide consumed illegal drugs such as cannabis, opioids, and cocaine. Furthermore, around 39.5 million people were thought to be problem drug users or to have a drug use disorder. Although drug use varies from country to country, drug use remains a significant problem in many parts of the world. For example, the United States is currently experiencing an opioid epidemic, with drug overdose deaths reaching record levels over the past few years.

What is the most used illicit drug worldwide?

The most used illicit drug worldwide is cannabis, followed by opioids, and amphetamines. High estimates suggest that around 5.4 percent of the global population consumed cannabis in the past year as of 2021. In comparison, around 1.5 percent of people were thought to have consumed opioids in the past year, and less than one percent were estimated to have used amphetamines. Drug use is generally more prevalent among men than women, but this distribution varies by drug. For example, around 73 percent of cocaine users worldwide are men and 27 percent are women, but women account for 45 percent of amphetamine users.

Cannabis uses

In 2021, it was estimated that around 219 million people worldwide consumed cannabis at least once in the past year. The highest number of past year cannabis users at that time was found in the Americas. This may be unsurprising since Canada and many U.S. states now allow the sale and use of recreational cannabis. The market for recreational cannabis is substantial in both countries. In the United States, sales of recreational cannabis reached 16.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 and are expected to grow to some 37 billion U.S. dollars by the year 2026. In 2020, there were thought to be around 3.43 million adult consumers of cannabis in the United States, with this number expected to increase to just over six million by 2025.