2025 Türkiye Drug Report: Trends and Developments

Türkiye is making substantial legal and structural efforts in its fight against drugs. However, the 2025 Türkiye Drug Report reveals that the current state of this struggle is marked not only by successes but also by warning signals.

The Fight Is Multifaceted, Coordination Is Strong

The fight against drugs is no longer solely the responsibility of law enforcement agencies. The first section of the report demonstrates the establishment of a coordinated model involving health, law, education and social services. The High Council for Drug Abuse Prevention institutionalizes this coordination. Expenditures reflect this determination: public spending exceeded 10.3 billion TL in 2024, an increase of approximately 49 percent.

The Top 13 Provinces with the Highest Seizures of Methamphetamine - 2025 Türkiye Uyuşturucu Raporu

On the legal front, amendments under Articles 188 and 191 of the Turkish Penal Code stand out. Innovations such as increased penalties for synthetic drugs, the implementation of “surprise testing” under supervised release, and accelerated mandatory treatment processes demonstrate the evolution of legal responses. At the same time, controlled growth and transformation are evident in sensitive areas such as medically authorized opium and cannabis production.

The Supply Front: Synthetic Drugs Are Rising

In 2024, law enforcement intervened in over 309,000 incidents, 83 percent of which involved possession for personal use. More striking, however, are the dramatic increases in synthetic drug-related cases.

• Methamphetamine seizures reached a record 33.8 tons, a 54 percent increase.
• Seizures of synthetic drugs (pharmaceuticals) rose by 227 percent, reaching 94.7 million tablets.
• Synthetic cannabinoid (Bonzai) incidents increased by 95 percent; 100 kg of raw SK material was seized in Istanbul alone.

Digital and Technological Fight: ASENA, NARVAS and UYUMA

Türkiye is advancing in its fight against drugs not only through operational measures but also through data-driven digital infrastructure.

• ASENA, an AI-assisted analysis system, contributed to over 14,000 seizures.
• NARVAS identifies risk zones through crime mapping.
• UYUMA is a domestic application that facilitates electronic reporting by citizens; it has been downloaded more than 740,000 times to date.

Thanks to these technologies, the fight is no longer merely reactive but has evolved into a proactive system.

An education program under the project - Narkotik Polisi Anne

Prevention and Education: Reaching Millions

The strongest weapon against drugs is preventive awareness. In this regard, education programs led by the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Interior and Yeşilay stand out.

• The “Best Narcotics Officer: Mother” project reached 3.5 million mothers.
• The “NARKONOKTA” project informed 4.7 million people in 2024.
• Türkiye Drug Abuse Prevention (TBM) training reached over 7.3 million people.
• The “Intervention Against Addiction in Schools (OBM)” program aims to distance children from risk at an early stage.

All these figures demonstrate that Türkiye’s policy is not merely punitive but also focused on building societal immunity.

Treatment, Rehabilitation and Reintegration

Addiction is a disease, and the number and capacity of treatment centers are critical in combating it. As of 2024, Türkiye has 143 treatment centers with a total bed capacity of 1,582. Outpatient applications have exceeded 390,000.

Nearly all inpatients are male. Methamphetamine is the most frequently treated substance (29.1 percent), and the average age of first drug use among patients is recorded at 22. Additionally, one in three intravenous drug users is Hepatitis C positive, and one in fifty is HIV positive.

For social reintegration after treatment, rehabilitation systems such as BAHAR and YEDAM are activated. YEDAM operates 107 centers across all 81 provinces and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, receiving over 16,000 first-time applications in 2024. The ALO 191 helpline provided 24/7 support to approximately 29,000 people.

Mortality Rates and the Criminal Justice System

In 2024, 427 drug-related deaths were recorded, representing a 42 percent increase compared to the previous year. More than half of these deaths were linked to polydrug use. The most commonly involved substances were synthetic cannabinoids (Bonzai) and methamphetamine.

Annual Distribution of Inmates in Correctional Facilities for Drug-Related Offenses - 2025 Türkiye Uyuşturucu Raporu

The number of inmates and detainees in correctional facilities for these offenses stands at 149,523, accounting for approximately 39 percent of the total detainee population. Over 146,000 individuals have been placed under supervised release and are now subject to at least two unannounced random checks per year under new regulations. In 2024, drug use was detected in 5,500 of these checks.

The Adana Guidance and Rehabilitation Closed Correctional Facility, opened in October 2024, stands out as the first example of a new model integrating treatment and the criminal justice system.