WASHINGTON (CMC) – A new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) says that marijuana seizures remain the largest, by weight, of all drugs seized in the Americas, including the Caribbean.

“The volume by weight of cannabis seizures between 2016 and 2020 fell dramatically in North America, remained stable in the Caribbean and Central America, and increased substantially in South America,” according to the “Report on Drug Supply in the Americas 2022.”

The evidence-based report on drug supply in the Americas describes trends and issues of interest to policy-makers and the general public, noting also that cocaine seizures increased from 2016 to 2020, with South America reporting the greatest share of seizures in the region.

It said countries where coca-based drugs were produced “noted efforts to increase yield through changes in cultivation practices, processing, and the use of different varieties of coca with longer productive lives.

“Data indicate that most of the heroin trafficking is within the region, and is mostly destined for markets in North America,” according to the report, which the OAS said was prepared over a two-year period by the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (ES-CICAD), the OAS’s consultative and advisory body on the drug problem.

It contains statistics on drug supply from 30 OAS member-states and presents trends on eradication, drug seizures, laboratory seizures, and arrests on drugs including cannabis, cocaine, fentanyl, and other synthetic opioids, methamphetamine, and other amphetamine-type stimulants.

The OAS said that, among other main findings of the report are that the primary drug of concern varies by country, “reflecting the variety of illegal drug supply across the region.

“In some countries, opioids, particularly fentanyl, are the major drugs of concern, while in others, cocaine predominates. In other countries, synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine are a major issue.

“Trends in North America concerning fentanyl and the proliferation of counterfeit pills contributing to rising overdose deaths include a steady decrease in the price of fentanyl as well as fentanyl being mixed with other drugs.

“Methamphetamine production showed an increasing trend in North America, while remaining concentrated in that sub-region,” the report states, noting that median wholesale prices of drugs were lower than retail prices, with the exception of smokable cocaine.

For cocaine, the report notes that the median price per gram at retail is US$14.15, whereas the median price per gram at wholesale is US$9.99. In contrast, the median retail price of smokable cocaine is US$4.20 per gram and US$9.04 at wholesale.

The report states that male arrests are higher than female arrests for all drugs in the Americas, while the proportional difference between male and female arrests remains stable.