Context:
UNODC released Annual World Drug Report (2024)
World Drug Report:
- Released by – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- Key Highlights –
- In the decade to 2022, the number of people using illicit drugs increased to 292 million.
- Most abused drugs – Cannabis followed by opioids, amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy.
- Cannabis was legalised across Canada, Uruguay, and 27 jurisdictions in the US.
- THC (delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is believed to be the main ingredient behind the psychoactive effect of the drug.
- Most affected regions – Triple Frontier area (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) and Golden Triangle (Laos, Myanmar and Thailand).
Global and National initiatives against use of illicit drugs:
- World Drug Day – Observed by UN on June 26th to increase action in achieving a drug-free world.
- Global Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) – Established by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution in 1946.
- UNODC – UN agency established in 1997.
- India’s Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) – Launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPA), 1985
Source: UNODC
Previous Year Question
About three-fourths of world’s cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Argentina
(b) Botswana
(c) the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(d) Kazakhstan
Answer: (c)
