The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the drug situation in South Korea, over the last 5 years up to the end of 2021. Within last 3 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on the public health, the global economy and daily life. We have made an effort to show these changes and to explore the longer-term consequences this crisis is having on drugs and crime in the country.

This statistical analysis of trends is based on drug seizures information collected by the National Forensic Service(NFS) from 2017 to 2021. The number of drugs seized of Methamphetamine (MA), Cannabis, opium puppy, MDMA, ketamine, synthetic opioids, LSD and New Psychoactive Substances(NPS) including synthetic cannabinoids was analyzed to show drug trends. For seizures, especially synthetic cannabinoids, their types, forms, mixing status, and types of mixed drugs were identified, and changes in abuse methods and abuse patterns were investigated.

The annual number of drug cases requested at the NFS has been increased to 246% over the past five years. 46% of all seizures were associated with MA in last year. Cannabis, opium puppy, MDMA, ketamine and synthetic cannabinoids accounted for 17%, 6.5%, 4%, 6% and 14%, respectively.

Because of pandemic-related restrictions, drug supply became difficult and drug consumption for recreational drugs was expected to decrease. However, drug abuse steadily increased, in particular, trafficking and abuse of MA, MDMA and ketamine. A statistical analysis of trends in 2021 prevalence of use of MA, MDMA and ketamine increased by 117%, 170% and 250% over the previous year, respectively.

The number of seizures of NPS has increased more than 20 times over the past five years from 2017. Especially, Synthetic cannabis represent the most rapidly proliferating class of NPS. The number of synthetic cannabis last year increased by more than 400% compared to the previous year. The two most frequently detected synthetic cannabinoids were 5-fluoro-MDMB-PICA and 4-fluoro-MDMB-BUTINACA in 2020. The drug market was changing rapidly so that the last year prevalence for ADB-BUTINACA and MDMB-4en-PINACA were 39%(228) and, 24%(143) among all of 581 cases seized synthetic cannabis, respectively.

In many cases, two or more drugs are mixed rather than a single drug. There were many cases of mixed use with stimulants such as MA and MDMA, and more than 2/3 of the confiscated herbal samples were presented mixed form with cannabis or other synthetic cannabis.

Their use is increasingly associated with severe acute toxicity and fatal event. It can be seen from a range of indicators that the drug trafficking and patterns of drug use are becoming ever more dynamic, complex and globally connected. This kind of poly-drug use, and more generally the growing importance of synthetic substances, highlights the urgent need to further develop forensic and toxicological resources if we are to better understand and respond rapidly to the increasingly complex drug problems.