International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed on 26 June to strengthen global action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse. Observance of this day aims to raise awareness to fight against the substance abuse as well as the unlawful trade of drugs.
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was first observed by the UN General Assembly in 1987. According to World Drug Report 2017, released by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) about a quarter of a billion people (or 5.3% global adult population) used drugs at least once in 2015. Of these, around 29.5 million people - or 0.6 per cent of the global adult population were suffered from drug use disorders, including dependence.