The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) published the European drug report 2022: trends and developments1 on 14 June 2022. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview and summary of the European drug situation up to the end of 2021. The Health Research Board (HRB) provides the Irish data and research for the EMCDDA report.

Hazardous new psychoactive substances

New psychoactive substances (NPS) continue to appear in Europe at the rate of one per week, posing a public health challenge. In 2021, some 52 NPS were reported for the first time through the European Union (EU) Early Warning System (EWS), bringing the total number of NPS monitored by the EMCDDA to 880. In 2021, some 15 new synthetic opioids, six synthetic cathinones, and six new synthetic cannabinoids were reported for the first time. Despite the 2022 Taliban ban on the production, sale, and trafficking of illicit drugs in Afghanistan, poppy cultivation appears to continue. Following controls on synthetic cathinones in China, most bulk quantities of these substances trafficked to Europe in 2020 originated in India, reflecting market adaptation to legal controls and supply disruptions.

Drug types

The situation in Europe with regard to various drug types is summarised below.

Cocaine

The availability and use of cocaine in Europe remains high, and reports indicate that crack cocaine use may be increasing among vulnerable drug users. A record 213 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the EU in 2020 and 23 laboratories were dismantled.

• In the EU, surveys indicate that nearly 2.2 million 15–34-year-olds (2.2% of this age group) used cocaine in the last year.
• In 2020, some 14,000 people entering treatment for the first time sought treatment for cocaine use. At 15%, this was the second most common problem drug for first-time entries.
• In 2020, there were 7,500 entries to treatment for crack cocaine use, with just five EU countries accounting for 90% of the total treatment cases.
• Cocaine, mostly in the presence of opioids, was implicated in 13.4% of drug poisoning deaths in Europe in 2022.
• The purity of cocaine has been on an upward trend over the past decade, and in 2019 reached a level 57% higher than the index year of 2009, while the retail price of cocaine has remained stable.

Cannabis

Developments in the cannabis area are creating new challenges for policymakers and services responding to its use. Cannabis products are becoming increasingly diverse, including extracts and edibles – high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content – and cannabidiol (CBD) products (low THC content). In 2020, the average THC content of cannabis resin was 21%, almost twice that of cannabis herb (11%), reversing the trend seen in recent years, when herbal cannabis was typically of higher potency.

• Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Europe, across all age groups.
• The EMCDDA estimates that last-year cannabis use among EU inhabitants aged 15–34 years is at 15.5%.
• Among EU inhabitants aged 15–24 years, an estimated 19.1% (9.0 million) used the drug in the last year and 10.4% (4.9 million) in the last month.
• In 2020, around 80,000 people entered specialised drug treatment in Europe for problems related to cannabis use (35% of all treatment demands); of those, about 43,000 were entering treatment for the first time.

Opioids (mainly heroin)

While heroin injecting is in decline, there are concerns around the injecting of a broader range of substances, including amphetamines, cocaine, synthetic cathinones, prescribed opioids, and other medicines. Drug-induced deaths continue to be driven by opioids and other drugs. An estimated 5,800 overdose deaths, involving illicit drugs, occurred in the EU in 2020. Most of these fatalities were associated with polydrug toxicity, which typically involves combinations of illicit opioids, other illicit drugs, medicines, and alcohol.

• There were an estimated one million high-risk opioid users in Europe in 2020.
• In 2020, use of opioids was reported as the main reason for entering specialised drug treatment by 66,000 clients, or 28% of all those entering drug treatment in Europe. Of these, almost 11,200 were first-time entrants.
• Toxicology reports from suspected drug-induced deaths reported that opioids were found in an estimated 74% of fatal overdoses reported in the EU, often in combination with other drugs.

New psychoactive substances and stimulants

At the end of 2021, the EMCDDA was monitoring around 880 NPS, 52 of which were first reported in Europe in 2020.

• A total of 224 new synthetic cannabinoids have been detected in Europe since 2008.
• In 2021, some 15 new synthetic opioids, six synthetic cathinones, and six new synthetic cannabinoids were reported for the first time.
• The 73 new synthetic opioids detected between 2009 and 2021 include six first reported in 2021.
• Surveys in European countries show that 1.9 million young adults (15–34 years) used MDMA in the last year (1.9% of this age group). Prevalence estimates for those aged 15–24 years are higher, with 2.2% (1.0 million) estimated to have used MDMA in the last year. 

1    European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) (2022) European drug report 2022: trends and developments. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/36441/