A global reference on drug markets, trends and policy developments, the World Drug Report offers a wealth of data and analysis and, in 2026, comprises several elements tailored to different audiences. The web-based Drug market patterns and trends contains the latest analysis of global, regional and subregional estimates of and trends in drug demand and supply in a user-friendly, interactive format supported by graphs, infographics and maps. Highlights provides a series of short topical analyses of key developments and issues that characterize the current world drug problem, while Special points of interest offers a framework for the main takeaways that can be drawn from those developments. As well as providing a comprehensive overview of global drug trends and key issues, the World Drug Report 2026 features, in its thematic chapter, a focused analysis of the Impact of drug use on safety and security. The World Drug Report 2026 is aimed not only at fostering greater international cooperation to counter the impact of the world drug problem on health, governance and security, but also at assisting Member States in anticipating and addressing threats posed by drug markets and mitigating their consequences.

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A new UN report reviews global progress since the adoption of the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and examines what will be required to keep the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 within reach. While significant advances have been made, including expanded access to antiretroviral treatment and declining AIDS-related deaths, the report warns that progress is increasingly threatened by funding shortfalls, humanitarian crises, growing inequalities, and setbacks for human rights. It highlights persistent gaps in access to prevention, treatment, and care, and calls for renewed political commitment, sustainable financing, community leadership, and people-centered responses. The report also outlines the role of the new 2026-2031 Global AIDS Strategy in guiding the next phase of the global HIV response.

Read the full report in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The latest European Drug Report provides a comprehensive overview of drug use, supply, and related health and social issues across Europe through the end of 2025. It finds that drug availability remains high across all major substance categories, while increasingly diverse and complex markets are creating new challenges for public health and policy responses. Covering cannabis, cocaine, synthetic stimulants, opioids, new psychoactive substances and other drugs, the report also examines injecting drug use, drug-related infectious diseases, overdose deaths, opioid agonist treatment and harm reduction services. Drawing on data from across Europe, it provides an important snapshot of emerging trends and threats shaping the region’s drug landscape.

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Jointly published by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC) and Harm Reduction International (HRI), it reveals the scale of international aid funding for the war on drugs. It focuses on such funding in countries that retain the death penalty for drug-related offences, at a time when drug-related executions account for around 46% of all executions confirmed globally. This is the sharpest edge of these controversial financial flows: connecting international taxpayers to executions around the world.

Over the decade from 2015-2024, it tracks a total of about $60 million spent by aid donors on ‘narcotics control’ projects in 14 countries that retain the death penalty – including Iran, one of the leading executors of people for drug related offences.

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The Joint Committee on Drugs Use today published its Final Report, in which Members recommend the repeal of Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 in order to fully decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use. In its report, the Committee makes 161 recommendations across family and community supports; kinship care; intergenerational trauma; addiction, sports and wellbeing; young people; substance use and neurodiversity; women, drug use and addiction; the National Drugs Strategy; nitrous oxide and other inhalants; and legal and policy issues. 

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While international drug treaties maintain the state of prohibition, legal regulation of the coca plant in the Andean-Amazonian region continues to develop, and can be strengthened and broadened. The aim of this new report is to explore viable ways to safeguard genetic resources, cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledge of the coca leaf, as well as to protect legal markets for coca from risks of misappropriation, biopiracy and corporate capture.

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This report examines recent changes in federal support for addiction science and related public health services in the United States. It documents workforce reductions, grant terminations, and budget cuts affecting research, surveillance systems, and treatment and prevention programmes. The report analyzes impacts on the National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and other agencies, highlighting reduced funding for substance use research and service delivery. It also examines effects on training programmes, data systems, scientific output, and the broader economic consequences of declining research investment.

Read the full report and watch the launch in English.

A new modelling study estimates that recent disruptions to funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could lead to significant increases in HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) transmission, as well as drug-related deaths among people who inject drugs. Focusing on nine countries where PEPFAR supported opioid agonist therapy (OAT), the researchers found that disruptions to OAT and NSPs could result in thousands of additional HIV and hepatitis C infections over the coming years, with most of the impact driven by reduced access to needle and syringe programmes. The findings underscore the critical role of harm reduction services in preventing infections and saving lives, and highlight the urgent need to address emerging funding gaps.

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A new primer examines Resolution 60/26 on the human rights implications of drug policy, adopted by consensus at the UN Human Rights Council in October 2025. As the fourth Human Rights Council resolution dedicated to drug policy, it reinforces the growing role of the UN human rights system in addressing drug policy issues and strengthens international language on harm reduction, non-discrimination, gender-responsive approaches, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, access to controlled medicines, alternatives to incarceration, and environmental protection. Designed as a practical advocacy tool, the primer explains the significance of the resolution and offers guidance for civil society organizations seeking to advance human rights-based drug policy reforms at national, regional, and international levels.

Read the full primer in English.