LIMA, Peru – November 2017: A drug use survey conducted in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in 2016 revealed for the first time the use of synthetic cannabinoids among university students. Only a small portion of those reporting the use of synthetic cannabinoids used these substances exclusively and a far larger proportion had used them alongside herbal cannabis.

Between 2012 and 2016, an increasing number of synthetic cannabinoids has been reported to UNODC every year by countries in South America, suggesting a growing importance of substances belonging to this group.

Figure 1. Lifetime prevalence of use of synthetic cannabinoids among university students in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (as a percentage), 2016

For more information, please see:

Drug use survey conducted in 2016 among university students in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – “III Estudio epidemiológico andino sobre consumo de drogas en la población universitaria, Informe Regional, 2016” (in Spanish)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/colombia/2017/Octubre/Informe_Universitario_Regional.pdf

UNODC report - “2017 Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment”
https://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/Global_Drugs_Assessment_2017.pdf