About the life-cycle assessment of illict drugs - and why we urgently need a green drug policy

The 2022 United Nations World Drug Report highlights, for the first time, the nexus between illicit drugs and the environment. In view of climate change, it is time to fuel the debate with facts and make drug policy greener.
By Jorrit Kamminga
For a long time, illicit economies were mainly discussed as security problems with social and developmental consequences. However, the fact that the illicit cultivation and production of coca, opium poppies, and cannabis also harm the environment has only come into focus recently, largely due to the growing debate on climate change. The 2022 World Drug Report includes a special booklet on the link between illicit drugs and the environment. Illicit drug economies exploit both people and the environment, particularly in the Global South. For millions of marginalised small-scale farmers, the illicit cultivation of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis is a matter of survival.
The report first establishes the connection between drugs and environmental degradation in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, and ecological sustainability, before providing a detailed analysis of the environmental impacts.
According to recent UNODC estimates, the cultivation areas of coca and opium poppy together cover half a million hectares. While this is a small portion of the total land used for food crops, the local effects are still significant. Large quantities of water, fertilisers, and pesticides are used to cultivate these crops. Smallholders often live in isolated, marginalised regions far from any infrastructure or state presence. Most coca is grown in the Andean region, where farmers plant bushes on small plots in national parks and forest reserves – ecosystems that are particularly fragile and worthy of protection. After harvesting, the coca leaves are processed on-site using chemicals such as petrol, sulphuric acid, potassium permanganate, sodium hydroxide, and acetone. Because production is illegal and lacks proper infrastructure for waste disposal, the toxic waste is often dumped directly into the environment.
Illicit cultivation and deforestation
In the Amazon regions, there has been a significant loss of primary forests in recent years. Unsustainable agricultural practices and illegal logging are the main drivers of deforestation, but the illicit cultivation of coca also plays a role – both directly and indirectly.
“Coca cultivation is considered the so-called spearhead of the agrarian frontier: the cultivation of the shrubs is accompanied by the expansion of settlement and agricultural land in actual protected areas.”
Indirectly, the consequences of coca cultivation are particularly severe. The 2022 World Drug Report refers to a 2020 study that shows how money laundering activities related to the drug trade contribute to deforestation. The study examined land-use changes in a Mayan biosphere reserve in Guatemala and found that cattle ranching was responsible for most of the deforestation in the reserve. In nearly all cases, the deforestation was linked to drug trafficking organisations that invested in cattle ranching for money laundering, drug smuggling, or territorial control.
The CO₂e Footprint of Illicit Drugs
Measuring the greenhouse gas emissions caused by drug production only highlights the ecological impact of these illicit activities. Studies on the carbon footprint of cocaine and cannabis production show that the emissions can be significant. While the CO₂e footprint of coca cultivation remains relatively small, the carbon emissions from cocaine production are enormous.
“The production of one kilogramme of cocaine releases the same amount of carbon dioxide as when a passenger car drives 2,358 kilometres - i.e. once across Europe.”
Cannabis cultivation leaves an even larger CO₂e footprint, primarily because it is often grown indoors, where artificial light, heat, and ventilation are required.
"The CO₂ footprint of indoor cannabis cultivation ranges from 2,300 to 5,200 kg CO₂e per kilogram of dried cannabis flower. This corresponds to a car journey of up to 20,000 kilometres."
For outdoor cannabis cultivation, the estimates are much lower, ranging from 22.7 to 326.6 kg CO₂e per kilogramme of dried cannabis flower. Compared to a cup of coffee, the environmental impact of a joint made from indoor-grown cannabis is far higher.
Political Responses and Alternative Development Project
For decades, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has supported sustainable income alternatives in drug crop cultivation areas. In this context, the environmental aspects of drug markets and drug policies are essential. Alternative Development approaches, which empower small-scale farmers to break away from illicit economies and develop legal, sustainable income opportunities, are becoming increasingly green.
For example, in Chiang Rai, Thailand, an Alternative Development project focusing on sustainable forest management aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by 106,788 tonnes over a 17-year period (2016-2033). Similarly, payments for environmental services have been integrated into an Alternative Development project in forest reserves in the Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Farming families protect the forest and the water supply quality and, in return, receive payments for their environmental services and technical support to grow crops more productively. This has led to both environmental recovery and an average increase in household incomes by 42%.
In the context of severe biodiversity loss and global warming, these examples highlight the potential of Alternative Development projects.
“Green drug policies are forward-looking, as they achieve vital results in terms of income generation and the protection of natural resources.”
First Steps on a Long but Vital Road
The 2022 World Drug Report provides concrete examples of how environmental and drug policies can interact. The publication of the special booklet is one of many necessary steps toward a future-proof drug policy that supports sustainable and environmentally friendly rural development.