Director-General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to begin by welcoming His Excellency, Mr. Alfredo Mantovano, to Vienna for the Commission, and by expressing my appreciation to the Government of Italy and Her Excellency Ms. Debora Lepre, for organizing this important event.
Synthetic drugs have become one of the most urgent and elusive drug challenges that we face.
They are evolving every day, expanding in reach and growing in potency.
Clandestine production laboratories are emerging in parts of the world typically not known to produce synthetic drugs.
The methods to manufacture drugs, and the means to traffic them are constantly evolving.
And the internet is growing as a marketplace for drugs, as well as a platform to exchange knowledge on how to make them.
Our public health systems are struggling to handle the scope and complexity of the problem.
And the weight of responding to this crisis is felt across every sector of society.
While men account for the greatest share of drug offences, women tend to have greater involvement with synthetic drugs compared to plant-based drugs, and once involved, they suffer much higher levels of harm than men while facing greater barriers to access treatment.
Young people are also acutely impacted, finding themselves more vulnerable to new substances and consumption methods, particularly at a time when their brains are still developing.
Faced with these evolving challenges, we need to redouble our efforts.
We need to empower those who are working on the front line: our doctors and nurses, our teachers and community workers, our police and border security officials.
And we must make sure that national strategies and action plans allow them to work effectively and cohesively to respond to the synthetic drugs problem.
Excellencies,
UNODC stands with you as you work to improve responses to synthetic drugs.
Through UNODC’s Synthetic Drugs Strategy, we are working with over 130 countries and territories to implement science-based health responses; improve early warning systems; strengthen counternarcotics efforts; and advance multilateralism on synthetic drugs.
Since 2021, our Toolkit on Synthetic Drugs has reached over 350,000 stakeholders, with more than 500 online tools and resources to support them to implement evidence-based responses.
Late last year, we launched our new “International Network of Legislation on Drugs”, helping legislators and policymakers to coordinate across the globe, share knowledge and expertise, and advance the adoption of more effective policies.
In December 2024, we introduced the “Clandestine Laboratory Investigation Platform”, an online interactive tool to support law enforcement and forensic teams to better identify and investigate clandestine labs.
And since 2013, our Early Warning Advisory has helped Member States to monitor 1,300 unique psychoactive substances, alerting to new and emerging synthetic drug threats and helping to predict and prevent future synthetic drug related crises.
Meanwhile, at the CND, we have worked with you to schedule the most harmful, prevalent and persistent substances, including 4 synthetic opioids of the ‘Nitazene’ class that will be considered for scheduling this week.
Excellencies,
National action against synthetic drugs must be informed by science; it must be comprehensive and balanced; and it must address all aspects of the challenge and be tailored to the national context.
We must enable all relevant actors to be involved, across government, civil society, and the private sector.
We must enhance international cooperation, to counter a problem that is fundamentally transnational.
And we must safeguard and reinforce our early warning systems, so we can continue to monitor existing and emerging synthetic drug threats.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to thank Italy for championing the importance of responding to the global synthetic drug problem.
You have my commitment that UNODC stands ready to work with you, as we aim to expand the reach of our Synthetic Drug Strategy, and advance capacity building and technical assistance across the globe.
Let us seize this opportunity, to scale up our responses, to mobilize resources, and to ensure that our strategies and cooperation lead to meaningful, impactful and sustainable results for the people who need it.
Thank you.
