Changing for the worse

Cannabis remains the drug most “consumed” by Europeans (a quarter of the adult population has used it at least once in their life), followed by so-called “stimulating” substances such as amphetamines, ecstasy and cocaine. The risk of heroin, on the other hand, is not diminishing. These are just some of the findings of the “2008 Annual Report: the state of the drugs problems in Europe”, presented by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in Brussels on 6 November.Cocaine is spreading. The extensive document – which analyses the situation of drug consumption in EU countries and in Norway – indicates the “categories at risk” (first and foremost youth) and correlated problems. It is pointed out, for example, that “approximately 12 million Europeans, aged between 15 and 64, have used cocaine at least once in their life, compared with roughly 11 million who have used amphetamines and 9.5 million ecstasy”. Wolfgang Götz, director of the EU Agency, explains: “Though the latest European data tend to show some stabilization of the phenomenon, if not even a decline, in the use of amphetamines and ecstasy, the figures also show, contrariwise, a constant growth in cocaine consumption, albeit in a restricted number of countries”. According to EMCDDA, some two million youth between the ages of 15 and 34 have tried amphetamines over the last year and some 2.5 million ecstasy: the use of amphetamines is reported as stable or “slightly decreasing”.Cannabis at the top of the league table. As regards the use of cannabis, the EMCDDA report estimates that some 71 million adult Europeans have made use of this drug “at least once in their life”, while 23 million persons aged between 15 and 64 “have consumed it over the last year, confirming it as the illicit substance most used in Europe”. Wolfgang Götz observes that the data are extremely differentiated from one country to the next, but adds that “roughly 4 million European adults consume cannabis on a daily basis or almost”. However, the Agency reports a “drop in the popularity” of this substance to the “benefit” of other drugs, primarily cocaine. “The supply of drugs, both those coming from outside the EU and those available within it, is progressively evolving”, he points out, “creating market innovations that are severely challenging the strategies” on the fronts of control and treatment. Prominent among these “innovations” are “the ever greater significance of the internal production of cannabis throughout Europe”, “the increasing number of cases of diversion to synthetic opiates and clandestine production”, and “an online market that is rapidly expanding and promoting legal drug experiences”. Deaths from overdose. “Opiates remain the central crux of the drug problem”, warns the EMCDDA. “The signs of mutation within the European problem of heroin – explains the report – indicate the need for countries to keep their level of guard high”. According to the European Agency the “problematic” consumers of opiates (morphine, heroin, methadone and other derivatives) fluctuate between 1.3 and 1.7 million: “The use of heroin is responsible for the highest cost, relating to drugs, in healthcare and social terms”. Each year between 7,000 and 8,000 deaths associated with drug use are reported in Europe, with a particular impact of heroin; “death from overdose is now one of the main causes of youth mortality”. Among other things the European Monitoring Centre states that the data contained in the 2008 Report “place in question previous assessments” made by the Agency itself that “had ascertained a slightly improving situation in terms of heroin use”: the problem is now said instead to be “stable but no longer diminishing”. Moreover, “the extraordinary production of opium registered in Afghanistan in 2007 concurs to aggravate the fears of potential repercussions on the heroin phenomenon in Europe”. Many connected problems. “According to current evidence we are not faced by an uncontrolled expansion of problems correlated with heroin use similar to that ascertained in much of Europe during the 1990s”, explains Götz, though he adds: “That does not mean we should ignore the threat represented by the enormous quantity of heroin currently present on the world market, or the fears that the indicators of its consumption give rise to, or the signals that identify a growing problem in synthetic opiates”. The monitoring work of the EMCDDA also includes the analysis of policies aimed at combating drug use in EU countries, activities in healthcare (including the problems of Hiv and Aids deriving from ways in which drugs are consumed) and in the wider social field, and the “threats” that are arriving from beyond the frontiers of the EU (illegal production and trafficking of drugs). This year’s report also states that the number of heroin seizures is increasing: some 50,000 of them have been carried out over the past year for a total amount of 20 tons.