SA a key player in 'global explosion' of synthetic drugs like meth, report finds

There has been a "global explosion" in the production, trafficking and use of synthetic drugs, according to an international report – and South Africa is at the geographic centre of this illicit economy.

The latest report by Jason Eligh, a researcher for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), titled Global Synthetic Drug Markets: The Present and Future, maps out the global landscape of the trade in synthetic drugs.

Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, mandrax and ecstasy are created in laboratories using chemicals – and the report illustrates how the illicit synthetic drug market has undergone a profound transformation in recent years.