A study revealed that the narcotics market generates annual sales that surpass USD 315 million. The UN fears that in the future, a globalized drug market would consolidate on the network.

The United Nations (UN) proposed greater regulation on cryptocurrencies to stop the crescent demand in the drug market through the dark web.

This proposal appears during the annual report of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on June 24 in Austria. The text highlights that the narcotics market creates annual sales that surpass USD 315 million.

The report highlights that the coronavirus pandemic speeds up the digitization of this market, with fewer street sales and more through the internet. This situation increases the purchases of narcotics via the network and the delivery by mail.

The document also highlighted that a globalized market for illegal drugs could find a safe place to operate on the network soon. There are fears that access will be easier and that it will affect the traditional consumption patterns. A good part of these transactions consolidates by using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.

New Platforms for Drug Trafficking

The publication assures that rapid technological innovation, combined with the agility and adaptability of drug traffickers, who now use new online platforms to sell drugs and other illicit substances, will likely increase the availability of drugs.

The report also highlights many topics about the use of cryptocurrencies in drug trafficking and terrorism. These topics are part of an opinion matrix based on investigations that show that the link between cryptocurrencies and factual crimes is not that strong.

The European Parliament made a recent study denoting a small number of documents and confirmed cases of terrorist financing, which involve crypto assets. However, the international entity does not rule out that the interest of terrorist groups in cryptocurrencies could increase.

The Drug System in Latin America

The world drug problem in Latin America also appears in the UN document. In this section, the document revealed that cocaine trafficking between South America and Europe is the world’s second-largest route for drugs and keeps evolving.

The text also clarified that the area under cultivation of coca decreased globally by 5% in 2019, in large part due to the first significant drop in cultivation in Colombia in the last six years. Despite this, that country remains the largest source of cocaine in the world.

The study warned that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting socio-economic consequences could increase the vulnerability among farmers and create incentives for them to keep cultivating coca leaf.

The document ends with a talk about the positive trends that appear in this study. The trends suggest that the increasing use of technology during the pandemic also brought more innovation in drug prevention and treatment services.

By: Jenson Nuñez

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