In a report published on Thursday, the 5th July, the EU Drugs Agency (EUDA) warns of new threats to Europe’s “constantly evolving” drugs market, including the increasing availability of cocaine and marijuana, new synthetic opioids and the diversification of the synthetic recreational drugs market beyond the more common amphetamines and methamphetamines, according to Reuters and Politico.
The report is based on data from 27 EU countries plus Norway and Turkey.
“The proliferation of highly potent substances and more complex patterns of drug use are putting strains on health and safety systems,” said Alexis Goosdeel, Executive Director of EUDA, in a statement. “This calls for an overall review of our approach and a shift from monitoring the situation to proactively assessing and strengthening preparedness.”
The EUDA writes that in 2023 there was “unprecedented import and seizure of synthetic cathinones” and the increased availability and use of these substances raises “concerns about a rise in health and social problems”.
In recent years, the amount of synthetic cathinone seized in Europe has increased from 3.3 tonnes in 2020 to 26.5 tonnes in 2022 and 37 tonnes in 2023. Synthetic cathinone is a laboratory-produced drug also known as “bath salts”.
Traditionally imported mainly from China, imports from India are now on the rise, with Europe receiving them mainly via the Netherlands. The Agency warns that “bath salts” can pose serious health risks, just like other stimulants. These include overdose, acute and chronic mental health problems and the spread of infectious diseases.
But synthetic cathinones may contain more potent substances that could pose different and more serious health risks, the Agency warns.
Poland has become the main producer of synthetic cathinones in Europe. The EUDA reported that in 2023, 40 of the 53 illegal laboratories exposed across the continent were located in Poland, indicating a large increase in drug production. This compares with only 29 such labs detected in 2022.
THE REPORT ALSO WARNS OF NEW SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY POPULAR IN THE BALTIC COUNTRIES.
In particular, it warns about nitazene opioids, which have recently entered the European drug market and are becoming increasingly available.
This opioid poses a risk of “serious poisoning” and is many times more potent than heroin or even fentanyl. Drug-related deaths rose from 7 100 in 2022 to 7 500 in 2023, mainly due to a combination of opioids and other substances.
The report calls for better surveillance, faster alerts and closer cooperation between sectors to tackle drug-related crime and health risks.
Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in Europe and the most commonly used illicit stimulant drug, used by an estimated 4.6 million adults in Europe last year.
The EUDA warns that the availability of cocaine continues to increase and that this increase “has an increasingly negative impact on public health in Europe”.
Cocaine concentrations in the waste water of several cities have also increased, “suggesting that as the availability of cocaine has increased, so has its geographical and social distribution,” the report says.
EU countries also seized a record amount of cocaine for the seventh year in a row, reaching 419 tonnes in 2023 compared to 323 tonnes in 2022. Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands accounted for almost three quarters of the total seizures.
Meanwhile, cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug in Europe. Cannabis products are becoming more potent, making it harder to assess health risks, the report says. The average THC level in cannabis resin has doubled in the last 10 years, the report says.
In 2024, authorities also discovered 18 new varieties of semi-synthetic cannabinoids, such as HHC, which can be legally sold in many countries as these molecules are often not explicitly banned.