1. This Selected issue is not intended to present a systematic and exhaustive review either of all possible definitions of drug-related public nuisance or of all measures, provisions and policies aimed at reducing the problem in the European Union, nor does it aim to reflect precisely the situation regarding public nuisance in each of the countries concerned. Rather, it seeks to contribute to our understanding of the issues and problems related to a new – and somewhat still limited – area for intervention in Member States, candidate countries and Norway. This document aims to present the first EMCDDA qualitative insight into an emerging concern within drug policy debate, at both national and European levels.

2. The alternatives to prison that may be offered to drug-using offenders cover a range of sanctions that may delay, avoid, replace or complement prison sentences for those drug users who have committed an offence normally sanctioned with imprisonment by national law. In this Selected issue, the focus is on those measures that have a drug-related treatment component. It will describe the political and legal background, the application and implementation, including common problems, and the effects of treatment as an alternative to imprisonment.

3. Since the mid-1990s buprenorphine has increasingly become available in Europe as an alternative to methadone for the treatment of opiate dependence. In this Selected issue, the reasons why clinicians are attracted to this drug, as well as the costs and benefits of buprenorphine in comparison with other treatment options, are explored in detail, and, for the first time, the increasing popularity of buprenorphine for the treatment of opiate dependence in many European countries is documented