Cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug in Europe and cocaine the most widely used stimulant, while opioid use, which has been in decline since the last century, appears to be on the rise, according to a European report.
This is one of the conclusions of the “European Report on Drugs 2023: Trends and Developments”, of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), presented today in Brussels, which stresses that “greater diversity in supply and consumption of drugs create new challenges for Europe”.
According to the document from the Lisbon-based agency, it is estimated that around 8%, which corresponds to 22.6 million adult Europeans (15-64 years old), used cannabis in the last year.
According to the data, in 2021 the amounts of cannabis resin (816 tons) and cannabis herb (256 tons) seized in the EU reached their highest level in a decade, “suggesting a high availability of this drug”.
In Europe, an estimated 97,000 users will undergo some form of drug treatment in 2021 for problems related to cannabis use, while new cannabis products pose public health challenges.
In 2022, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) became the first reported semi-synthetic cannabinoid in the EU. It has been identified in two thirds of the Member States and in some countries of the European Union it is sold as a “legal” alternative to cannabis.
The 2023 report, which compiles data from 2021 and 2022, also reports record cocaine seizures and growing concern over the use of synthetic stimulants.
The report also cited record seizures of cocaine through European seaports and growing concern over the use of synthetic stimulants.
In 2021, the Member States of the European Union seized a record amount of 303 tons of cocaine, with Belgium (96 tons), the Netherlands (72 tons) and Spain (49 tons) accounting for almost 75% of the total amount. .
Preliminary data for 2022 shows that the amount of cocaine seized in Antwerp, Europe’s second-largest seaport, increased from 91 tons in 2021 to 110 tons.
Available data suggests that organized crime groups are also increasingly targeting smaller ports in other EU countries, such as Portugal, and in countries bordering the EU.
The illicit manufacture of cocaine in the EU is also growing in importance, with 34 cocaine laboratories dismantled in 2021 (23 in 2020), some of them large.
According to the Portuguese Judicial Police, in 2022, provisional figures, 16.3 tons of cocaine were seized in the national territory.
Cocaine is the most widely used illicit stimulant drug in Europe, having been used by around 1.3% (3.7 million) European adults (15-64 years) in the last year, and is the most common substance associated with cases of acute poisoning in hospital emergencies in 2021, being referred in 27% of cases.
There are also some signs that injection cocaine and crack use is becoming more common among marginalized groups in some countries.
The report also specifies that “the problems related to opiates in Europe are evolving”, with “heroin still being the most widely used illicit opiate in Europe”, but there is growing concern about the use of synthetic opiates in some areas.
Many synthetic opioids are extremely powerful and pose a risk of poisoning and death. Only small amounts are needed to produce thousands of doses, making these substances much more profitable for organized crime groups.
The amount of heroin seized by EU member states more than doubled in 2021 to 9.5 tons, while Turkey seized a record 22.2 tons.
Almost all the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghanistan, where the Taliban announced a ban on opium poppy cultivation in April 2022, the report says, adding that while it is too early to say how the ban will affect the European heroin market there are fears. that any shortages in the availability of the drug could be linked to an increased supply and demand for synthetic opioids.
Source: TSF
