The proliferation of opioids and other synthetic substances is undermining public health, attracting new criminal actors, and overwhelming states’ response capacities, according to a study published in March.
The proliferation of synthetic drugs in West Africa constitutes one of the most urgent and complex challenges to public health and regional security, according to a report published in March 2026 by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
Entitled “Synthesis – Mapping Synthetic Drug Markets in West Africa,” the study, authored by Lucia Bird, Jason Eligh, Kingsley Madueke, and Mouhamadou Kane, highlights a profound transformation of illicit markets. Traditional plant-based substances, controlled by hierarchical criminal networks, are gradually giving way to a fragmented and decentralized market of synthetic psychoactive
compounds.
A growing health and social threat
The report seen by APA highlights a continued worsening of the harms associated with synthetic drugs: overdoses, chronic illnesses, severe mental disorders, and the disintegration of the social fabric. Young people are the primary victims. In some particularly affected countries, the situation is considered serious enough to jeopardise long-term stability and economic development.
Since 2024, two West African states have declared a state of emergency in response to the synthetic drug crisis, a measure previously reserved for major epidemics and pandemics.
Among the substances in circulation are synthetic cannabinoids, nitazenes, and other new compounds, often of unknown composition.
Synthetic opioids, particularly tramadol and its derivatives such as tapentadol, are experiencing an alarming increase. Although some of these products are used medically to treat pain, their misuse is
fueling a significant rise in morbidity and mortality.
A market facilitated by digital technology and globalisation
The study highlights the factors that are driving the rapid expansion of this market: low barriers to entry, limited start-up capital, anonymity offered by digital platforms, and easy access to chemical
precursors through globalised supply chains.
The rise of the internet in West Africa has enabled the online purchase of substances and chemicals, often originating from Asia and Europe. These goods are smuggled in through channels that are
difficult to monitor, including postal and delivery services.
According to the authors, the synthetic drug trade functions as a “gateway market,” allowing new criminal actors to quickly accumulate capital. The profits generated are used to finance other illicit
activities and to buy protection, fueling corruption and strengthening organised criminal networks.
Insufficient response capacity
The report underscores a worrying gap between the scale of the threat and the resources available to address it. Monitoring systems are struggling to identify the growing diversity of substances.
Laboratory analytical capabilities remain limited, and resources dedicated to treatment and rehabilitation are considered insufficient.
Traditional law enforcement approaches are proving inadequate in the face of decentralised, technologically agile networks connected to global dynamics.
In 2025, over 190 semi-structured interviews were conducted in several West African countries with law enforcement officers, magistrates, investigative journalists, healthcare professionals, port and airport stakeholders, international organisations, members of civil society, and people who use drugs.
Field analyses were also carried out in 2024 in Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, supplemented by laboratory tests.
The findings were shared with representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Epidemiological Network on Drug Use (WENDU), and then presented at a high-level dialogue held in Accra in November 2025, which brought together approximately 160 participants from Africa and Europe.
A call for harmonised regional action
Among its key findings, the GI-TOC observes that synthetic drug markets are rapidly expanding and diversifying, with increasingly serious consequences for public health, particularly among young
people and marginalised communities.
The lack of reliable data is a major obstacle to developing evidence-based policies. The regional response is considered to be lagging behind the rapid evolution of the market.
The report calls for strengthened regional leadership and coordinated action based on multi-stakeholder coalitions to contain a threat that could have lasting consequences for the security, stability, and well-being of populations in West Africa.
AC/fss/as/APA