For the first time since its conception, this year the World Drug Report consists of two products, a web-based element and a set of booklets. The latest global, regional and subregional estimates of and trends in drug demand and supply are presented in a user-friendly, interactive online segment. While Special points of interest include key takeaways and policy implications, booklet 1 takes the form of an executive summary based on analysis of the key findings of the online segment and the thematic booklet 2 and the conclusions that can be drawn from them. In addition to providing an in-depth analysis of key developments and emerging trends in selected drug markets, including in countries currently experiencing conflict, booklet 2 focuses on a number of other contemporary issues related to drugs.

Booklet 2 opens with a look at the challenges posed to law enforcement by synthetic drugs, both in terms of their increasing potency, adaptability and ease of manufacture and their shorter supply chains, reduced risk and lower production costs compared with drugs of natural origin. Other law enforcement challenges are considered in the context of the increasing use of social media for buying and selling drugs online. Booklet 2 also examines approaches to regulating the medical cannabis market in different countries and assesses recent developments surrounding the therapeutic, spiritual and non-medical use of substances known as “psychedelics”. The remainder of the booklet focuses on issues related to drugs in specific contexts, including the Amazon Basin, where the convergence of drug crime and crimes that affect the environment poses a threat to natural and human ecosystems. The risk factors for and vulnerability to substance use disorders among forcibly displaced populations are also discussed in the booklet, and the interim outcomes of innovations and modifications of services for people who use drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic are summarized.

Their web-based online platform contains insights related to the latest global, regional and subregional estimates and trends in drug demand and drug supply in the form of global, regional and sub-regional Key Findings that are easy to search. The user can search these key findings using the different filter options by region, topic, market, and more. Each key finding contains insights presented through succinct messages, supported by a number of data visualizations based on the latest available data, including interactive graphs, infographics and maps. The Online World Drug Report 2023 contains more than 90 key findings with over 300 data visualizations.