Global opioid market at a ‘turning point’, says UNODC

Global opioid market at a ‘turning point’, says UNODC

The increasing availability of synthetic opioids like fentanyls, nitazenes and orphines in the wake of the Taliban’s 2022 opium ban signals a ‘turning point’ in the global opioid market, according to the UNODC’s World drug report 2026.

The move from plant-based opiates towards synthetics like fentanyls and nitazenes could lead to a ‘permanent shift’ in the market 

Although other countries have increased their opium production – Myanmar’s has more than doubled to over 1,000 tons – this has not offset the declines in Afghanistan, which produced more than 6,000 tons in the year before the ban. 

Traffickers had stockpiled large amounts of opium in anticipation of the ban, but stocks are believed to be finally dwindling – an assumption supported by survey data from Afghanistan showing that more men are ‘seeking treatment for problems with pharmaceutical opioids and sedatives and tranquillisers than with opiates, which had long dominated in the country,’ the report states. (DDN – Drink and Drugs News, UK, 26.06.2026)

https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/global-opioid-market-at-a-turning-point-says-unodc/