The ambition and billions spent on trying to eradicate the use of drugs has proved pointless. Drugs are, and will continue to be popular. But what will change is the type of drugs we will use in the future, as well as how they will be taken, and why. The old staples heroin, cocaine and cannabis will continue to have their consumers, but amid widening inequalities in wealth, education and opportunity, drug use among the most deprived in society will increase.

This drug “ghettoisation” will grow as the harms of substances are felt most acutely by those who have the least, while those with social and material capital continue to be protected from the worst effects. We have already witnessed the way this plays out in the unequal distribution of and access to drugs used to manage pain. America consumes the largest share of the world’s opioid supply with a rate of use 2000 times higher than India, figures that are alarming for either country.

Alcohol and tobacco consumption adopted by developed countries in the west and passed onto developing nations in Africa and Asia over past decades will now be the template for various populations’ relationship with cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines. And with it, will come more problems, such as blood-borne viruses and infections like Hepatitis C that the west has been tackling for years. Such risks aren’t far off. The expansion of drug use in developing countries has already been accelerated by easier modes of distribution and supply facilitated by the use of mobile phones and banking, providing equal access to drugs between both rural and urban areas. Unless the health infrastructure and investment match the rapid uptake of drug use in these populations, we could witness the same devastation witnessed with HIV in these countries.

World's 10 deadliest street drugs Show all 10 1 /10 World's 10 deadliest street drugs World's 10 deadliest street drugs Whoonga Whoonga is a combination of antiretroviral drugs, used to treat HIV, and various cutting agents such as detergents and poisons. The drug is widely available in South Africa due to South Africa’s high rate of HIV sufferers, and is believed to be popular due to how cheap it is when compared to prescribed antiretrovirals. The drug is highly addictive and can cause major health issues such as internal bleeding, stomach ulcers and ultimately death Getty World's 10 deadliest street drugs Scopolamine Scopolamine is a derivative from the nightshade plant found in the Northern Indian region of South America (Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela). It is generally found in a refined powder form, but can also be found as a tea. The drug is more often used by criminals due its high toxicity level (one gram is believed to be able to kill up to 20 people) making it a strong poison. However, it is also believed that the drug is blown into the faces of unexpecting victims, later causing them to lose all sense of self-control and becoming incapable of forming memories during the time they are under the influence of the drug. This tactic has reportedly been used by gangs in Colombia where there have been reports of people using scopolamine as way to convince victims to rob their own homes World's 10 deadliest street drugs Heroin Founded in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, heroin is one of the world’s oldest drugs. Originally it was prescribed as a strong painkiller used to treat chronic pain and physical trauma. However in 1971 it was made illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Since then it has become one of the most destructive substances in the world, tearing apart communities and destroying families. The side effects of heroin include inflammation of the gums, cold sweats, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and insomnia. It can also damage blood vessels which can later cause gangrene if left untreated World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crack cocaine Crack cocaine first came about in the 1980’s when cocaine became a widespread commodity within the drug trafficking world. Originally cocaine would have attracted a high price tag due to its rarity and difficulty to produce, but once it became more widespread the price dropped significantly. This resulted in drug dealers forming their cocaine into rock like shapes by using baking soda as a way of distilling the powder down into rock form. People were doing this because it allowed for them to sell cocaine at a lower quantity and to a higher number of people. The side effects of crack cocaine include liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as permanent damage to blood vessels, which can often lead to heart attacks, strokes, and ultimately death World's 10 deadliest street drugs Crystal meth Not just famous because of a certain Walter H White, but also because it is one of the most destructive drugs in the world. First developed in 1887, it became widely used during the Second World War when both sides would give it to their troops to keep them awake. It is also believed that the Japanese gave it to their Kamikaze pilots before their suicide missions. After the war crystal meth was prescribed as a diet aid and remained legal until the 1970s. Since then it has fallen into the hands of Mexican gangs and has become a worldwide phenomenon, spreading throughout Europe and Asia. The effects of crystal meth are devastating. In the short-term users will become sleep depraved and anxious, and in the long-term it will cause their flesh to sink, as well as brain damage and damage of the blood vessels World's 10 deadliest street drugs AH-7921 AH-7921 is a synthetic opioid that was previously available to legally purchase online from vendors until it became a Class A in January 2015. The drug is believed to have 80% of the potency of morphine, and became known as the ‘legal heroin’. While there has only been one death related to AH-7921 in the UK, it is believed to be highly dangerous and capable of causing respiratory arrest and gangrene World's 10 deadliest street drugs Flakka Flakka is a stimulant with a similar chemical make-up to the amphetamine-like drug found in bath salts. While the drug was originally marketed as a legal high alternative to ecstasy, the effects are significantly different. The user will feel an elevated heart rate, enhanced emotions, and, if enough is digested, strong hallucinations. The drug can cause permanent psychological damage due to it affecting the mood regulating neurons that keep the mind’s serotonin and dopamine in check, as well as possibly causing heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Bath salts Bath salts are a synthetic crystalline drug that is prevalent in the US. While they may sound harmless, they certainly aren’t the sort of salts you drop into a warm bath when having a relaxing night in, they are most similar to mephedrone, and have recently been featured throughout social media due to the ‘zombification’ of its. The name comes from the fact that the drug was originally sold online, and widely disguised as bath salts. The side effects include unusual psychiatric behaviour, psychosis, panic attacks and violent behaviour, as well as the possibility of a heart attack and an elevated body temperature World's 10 deadliest street drugs Purple Drank One of the more unusual drugs around at the moment, purple drank was popularised in 90s hip hop culture, with the likes of Jay Z and Big Moe all mentioning it in their songs. It is a concoction of soda water, sweets and cold medicine, and is drunk due to cold medicines high codeine content, which gives the user a woozy feeling. However it can also cause respiratory issues and heart failure World's 10 deadliest street drugs Krokodil Krokodil is Russia’s secret addiction. It is believed that over one million Russians are addicted to the drug. Users of krokodil are attracted to the drug due to its low price; it is sold at £20 a gram while heroin is sold for £60. However, krokodil is considered more dangerous than heroin because it is often homemade, with ingredients including painkillers, iodine, lighter fluid and industrial cleaning agents. This chemical make-up makes the drug highly dangerous and likely to cause gangrene, and eventually rotting of the flesh

An added issue in developing countries is the way land is prioritised for growing drugs, rather than food crops. As populations grow, such use of land at the expense of food production will inevitably amplify drug-related deaths in these populations. But even as the impact of drug production on the environment grows, minor expressions of concern in the west – such as we’ve seen in recent years – will do little to reverse the effects.

For western countries, an Uber-like disrupter will emerge. Price and availability have historically shaped changes in drug use. But this time disruption will be initiated by music and the pharmaceutical industry (think rap music and Xanax, or the influential role pharmaceuticals had in the prescribing habits of medics who began dishing out copious amounts of opiates in America and the ensuing havoc it wreaked). Money is seductive in shaping drug use, but in the near future, the way music influences its audiences to replicate the lifestyles and identity of those they loyally follow, will also have a much bigger impact.

Musicians and pharmaceuticals will be adept at recognising the needs of their respective markets. While the old staples of heroin, cocaine and benzodiazepines continue to provide self-medication to treat all manners of social disadvantages, those who aren’t struggling to survive will be serviced by these industries. Subtle but profound altered states will be sought, an example of this new high has started already with micro-dosing, which sees people use small amounts of a psychedelic drug to enhance psychological performance or to tune into a spiritual zone. The rising popularity of the tingling euphoria and relaxation sensations provided by Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) will be enhanced or produced by a range of psychoactive chemicals developed by pharmaceuticals and marketed by music.

Leisure work, for example, will be served by drugs known as nootropics, smart drugs which enhance cognitive abilities such as concentration, problem solving and memory. Employers will only consider people willing to use nootropics to increase their productivity, paradoxically employees will be penalised for a negative rather than a positive result. Nootropics will prove to be popular with older people, a rapidly growing segment of the population, who want to halt their cognitive decline and who need to keep working into their 70s and 80s as they won’t be able to afford to retire.

The search for new health treatments based on old drugs has already started with research exploring the use of psychedelics like LSD and Ketamine for depression, cannabis to treat psychosis and deep brain stimulation for alcohol addiction. Although the results of this early research look promising, if they do prove to be successful, they will only be made available to the haves, rather than the have nots.