VIENNA, Austria – October 2019: The current Global SMART Update Vol. 22 “The ATS market - 10 years after the 2009 Plan of Action” takes a look at the ATS market ten years after the 2009 Plan of Action was adopted by the United Nations and the UNODC Global SMART programme was initiated. Since then, the ATS market underwent significant changes. Affordability, availability and purity of ATS have increased, trafficking patterns have become more globalized and international criminal organizations collaborate across continents. The global quantity of ATS seizures increased more than four times, from 60 tons in 2008 to 261 tons in 2017, with methamphetamine becoming the primary ATS drug of concern. Moreover, new trends appeared, for instance changes in the range of precursors used. As more information on the dynamics of the synthetic drug market becomes available, this knowledge can be used to develop balanced responses, including global monitoring and trend analysis, national capacity building for data and for drug identification, early warning systems, legal responses as well as knowledge sharing.

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