Never before has there been such availability this year cocaine on the market, and never like this year have there been so many people in the world using it. Not only that: according to the UN annual report on drugs, the addictive “white powder” has never been so pure. Of the highest quality, one would say if it were a legal product, and what’s more at relatively affordable prices, as experts from the United Nations point out: “In fact, the cocaine is cheaper, since today it is possible to buy a much purer substance for the same price,” writes the UNODC, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Record Production: Coca Drives Economy of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru
The boom was driven by a growth of bothsupply as much as demand: In Colombia, Bolivia e Perù, where it comes from practically 100% of the cocaine is extracted around the world, productivity is continuing to increase. Considering only pure cocaine, the latest available data speaks of 2.757 tons produced in 2022, that is, 20% more than the previous year. In the same period, in the three South American countries mentioned, the surface area dedicated to the cultivation of coca plants also grew, by 12%, reaching 355.000 hectares in total. Only in Colombia, the world's leading producer, the cultivated area has increased by over 25.000 hectares, the equivalent of 34.000 football fields. In 2023, coca fields reached a surface area equal to a third of that of coffee plantations, the country's leading agricultural commodity. Moreover, for some time now, cocaine exports in Colombia have surpassed that of oil in value, representing today over 5% of GDP.
Western Europe: Cocaine consumption at an all-time high
Furthermore, as mentioned, the narcotic substance has never been so request, in particular in Western Europe, which is now firmly the second target market globally: according to a study published in June by Euda, the European Drug Agency, they are now almost 4 million people between 15 and 64 years old who use cocaine in the countries of the European Union, equal to 1% of the total citizens of that age group on the continent. A percentage double that of the entire world, taken into consideration by the United Nations: today, people across the planet between 15 and 64 years old who have used cocaine at least once in their life are 0,45% of the total, the highest rate ever, up from 0,35% recorded in 2015. Between 2018 and 2022, again according to UN data, cocaine consumers in the world increased by 22%, reaching almost 24 million.
Europe, where is the most cocaine consumed?
Returning to Europe, of the 60.000 people hospitalized in 2023 for cocaine-related problems, 27% admitted to using it daily.Italy However, it does not appear among the countries with the highest consumption, which instead appear to be Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Norway e Denmark. Causing even more alarm is thecrack expansion, produced by diluting cocaine hydrochloride in water and adding sodium bicarbonate. This crystallized form of cocaine can be smoked and is highly addictive: between 2017 and 2022, European drug treatment centers recorded a 42% increase in patients using crack. In our continent, this phenomenon mainly concerns Germany, but for example in Brazil, between 2000 and 2022 the number of deaths linked to cocaine or crack use exploded by 600%.
