East and Southeast Asia’s drug market has been marked by a decade of growth in the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine – a trend that continues. The region has also experienced an expansion in the production and trafficking of ketamine, and the number of new synthetic drugs appearing is increasing. The situation has been underpinned by the ready availability and creative use of chemicals.
There are different perspectives and dynamics to be taken into account when analysing a drug market, and in East and Southeast a certain reality becomes obvious the longer it is looked at; the control of territory by major organized crime groups and their partners, and the autonomy and freedoms they enjoy as a result, has allowed them to massively increase and diversify supply for the purposes of market expansion and domination.
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Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime