WORLD DRUG REPORT 2026

Key terms to know

This document is intended for journalists, civil society or members of the public who are looking for a non-exhaustive, unofficial reference on some of the terms used in the World Drug Report 2026.

For a more detailed and official reference on drug-related terms, read UNODC’s Terminology and Information on Drugs or its Early Warning Advisory.

Classes of Drugs

Occur naturally, often in plants (but also in fungi and animals)
Alkaloid concentrations generally limited by rudimentary extraction/refinement procedures
May be altered by humans to generate new (semi-synthetic) compounds of greater potency
Discovery of new compounds occurs in nature and is slow

Manufactured artificially by humans using chemicals (although some can be made from plant-based inputs)
Producers can manufacture products of higher purity given improvements to synthesis and refinement processes
Potency can vary but is often much higher than in naturally occurring alternatives
New compounds are discovered rapidly in the laboratory or on the computer

Drug Categories or Types (non-exhaustive)

Amphetamine-type stimulants: a group of drugs, mostly synthetic in origin, whose principal members include amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy).

Cannabis: Cannabis is a tobacco-like greenish or brownish material made up of the dried flowering tops and leaves of the cannabis (hemp) plant. Cannabis resin or "hash" is the dried black or brown secretion of the flowering tops of the cannabis plant, which is made into a powder or pressed into slabs or cakes. Cannabis oil or "hash oil" is cannabis resin in liquid form. Cannabis is by far the most cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug.

“Captagon”: a former brand name for fenethylline, captagon is now a street name for an illicitly manufactured synthetic drug that typically contains various concentrations of amphetamine.

Cocaine: a psychoactive drug obtained from the coca leaf, usually found in a white powder that is snorted or further processed into crack cocaine for smoking or injection.

Hallucinogens: a diverse group of naturally occurring and synthetic drugs that induce distorted states of consciousness, perception, thinking and feeling, accompanied by different degrees of auditory or visual hallucinations. They are also referred to as “psychedelics.”

Kush: in Africa, plant matter mixed with different psychoactive substances for smoking. Some tests of kush have identified synthetic cannabinoids and opioids.

New psychoactive substances (NPS): a substance of abuse, either in a pure form or a preparation, that is not controlled by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs or the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, but which may pose a public health threat. In this context, the term “new” does not necessarily refer to novel inventions but to substances that have recently become available. NPS that have been placed under international control since 2015 continue to be included under the term NPS by UNODC to enable time series analysis. NPS have been known in the market by terms such as “designer drugs,” “legal highs,” “herbal highs” and/or “bath salts.”

Opioids and Opiates: opioid is an umbrella term covering all substances – both plant-based and synthetic – that act on the brain’s opioid receptors. They are commonly used for the management of pain. Opiates, meanwhile, are all opioids that are derived naturally from the opium flower, like morphine, codeine or heroin (although note that heroin is considered a semi-synthetic drug).

Opium: a plant-based drug harvested from the opium poppy, which grows in many countries around the world with moderate climates.

Heroin: a powerful and highly addictive drug, heroin is a semi-synthetic drug derived from morphine. It is currently listed under Schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (see below).

Fentanyls: a group of synthetic opioids that can be up to 1000 times more potent than heroin. Twenty three fentanyl compounds are listed under Schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (see below).

Nitazenes: Up to 500 more potent than heroin, nitazenes are another group of synthetic opioids and are also classified as new psychoactive substances. Though they were originally developed in the 1950s as an alternative to morphine, nitazenes were never approved for medical use due to their high risk of respiratory depression. Twelve nitazenes are currently under international control, meaning governments have limited the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes.

Orphines: another group of synthetic opioids originally developed in the 1960s by medical researchers for their anesthetic properties. Many have a higher potency than drugs like heroin. First reported to UNODC’s Early Warning Advisory (EWA) in 2019, one orphine (Brorphine) was placed under international control in 2022. Ten additional orphine analogues were reported to the EWA as of February 2026.

Synthetic cannabinoids: synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of cannabis. Examples include ‘spice’, ‘kush’, ‘Bliss’, ‘Bombay blue’ and more.

Other terms

Decriminalization: policies that remove criminal sanctions for personal (non-medical) drug use or minor offences, such as possession for personal use, through a process during which an offence is reclassified from “criminal” to “non-criminal” through legislative action, whilst remaining prohibited or contrary to law.

Legalization: policies and national legal frameworks that explicitly permit the nonmedical and non-scientific supply and use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and entail no penalty, whether criminal, administrative, civil or otherwise, for the personal use or possession of controlled substances, or frameworks that support for-profit commercial markets.

Precursors: substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

International Scheduling: the placing of a drug under international control by adding them to one of the ‘schedules’ or tables of the three international drug control conventions (see below). These decisions are taken by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Substances under international control: refers to substances listed in the schedules (for the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Convention on Psychoactive Substances) and tables (for the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances). Learn more about the international drug conventions here.

Explore more in the
World Drug Report 2026.

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

WORLD DRUG REPORT 2026

Key terms to know

This document is intended for journalists, civil society or members of the public who are looking for a non-exhaustive, unofficial reference on some of the terms used in the World Drug Report 2026.

For a more detailed and official reference on drug-related terms, read UNODC’s Terminology and Information on Drugs or its Early Warning Advisory.

Classes of Drugs

Plant-based drugs

Synthetic drugs

Drug Categories or Types (non-exhaustive)

Types of opioids frequently mentioned in the World Drug Report

Other terms

Explore more in the
World Drug Report 2026.

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

WORLD DRUG REPORT 2026

Key terms to know

This document is intended for journalists, civil society or members of the public who are looking for a non-exhaustive, unofficial reference on some of the terms used in the World Drug Report 2026.

For a more detailed and official reference on drug-related terms, read UNODC’s Terminology and Information on Drugs or its Early Warning Advisory.

Classes of Drugs

Plant-based drugs

Synthetic drugs

Drug Categories or Types (non-exhaustive)

Types of opioids frequently mentioned in the World Drug Report

Other terms

Explore more in the World Drug Report 2026.

Explore more in the
World Drug Report 2026.