Brussels, 05/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - Even though cannabis still tops the table, the consumption of cocaine is becoming increasingly widespread throughout the European Union, the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) stressed in a press release on Thursday 5 November. "Cocaine and heroin continue to maintain a firm hold on Europe's drugs scene, and there is little to suggest at present any improvement regarding their use in Europe", said Wolfgang Götz, Director of the EMCDDA. This observation has prompted a reaction from the European Commission, which calls on the member states to act together to fight the plague of drugs. "The European Commission calls on the member states to act in a united and coordinated manner to use not only the figures and the reports of the EMCDDA more, but also the tools that they themselves have put in place, like Europol and Eurojust", said Jacques Barrot, European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs. "It is time to acknowledge that fighting drugs and organised crime at only a national level is definitely over. Globalisation of crime is a fact, but the European response often remains fragmented (...). Let's hope that the new Lisbon Treaty will allow us to move up a gear in fighting drugs use and drug-related crimes", he said.
Some 13 million Europeans, or nearly 4%, have cocaine at some point in their life, the EMCDDA reveals in its annual report on the "State of the Drugs Problem in Europe". This substance, which is sold for between €44 and €88 a gram, remains "Europe's most popular stimulant" and the second-most consumed illegal drug after cannabis, the report states. The consumption of cocaine in the EU remains concentrated in the countries of Western Europe. It could also be soon to overtake amphetamines and ecstasy in certain countries, such as the United Kingdom, Denmark and Spain, and the prevalence of cocaine consumption over the last year in young adults (15-34 years) has increased by at least 15% in five countries (Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Portugal and the United Kingdom). In 2007, the number of seizures of cocaine in Europe grew from 92,000 cases (compared to 84,000 in 2006), whereas the total quantity intercepted fell from 121 tonnes in 2006 to 77 tonnes in 2007. Of consumers starting treatment for the first time, 22% cited cocaine as their primary problem drug. Around 500 deaths linked to cocaine use were reported in 2007.
Cannabis remains the most popular illegal drug in Europe, even though consumption is showing signs of downturn, particularly in young people and especially in the countries of Western Europe, Croatia and Slovenia. Even so, this drug remains the most "popular" on the Old Continent. Seventy-four million people, or 22% of Europeans aged between 15 and 64, have smoked it at least once in their life. More than 2% of young adults, most of them men, take the drug every day or very nearly. The retail price per gram varies between €3 and €11 for resin and between €1 and €12 for herbal cannabis.
Although the consumption of amphetamines and ecstasy is also falling, use of opiates, mostly heroin, has on the other hand seen a "worrying increase" after several years of downturn. 1.4 million users are affected and "the health and social problems which can be put down to the use of this drug remain considerable", says Marcel Reimen, president of the EMCDDA. Around 650,000 users took substitution treatment in 2007. Between 2002 and 2007, the number of seizures of heroin registered in the EU and Norway increased by an average of 4% a year. Turkey, a major transit country for heroin and which is to join the EU, reported record seizures of 13.2 tonnes in 2007, compared to 2.7 tonnes in 2002. The EMCDDA also noted major concerns regarding polydrug use, which is on the increase, and particularly worsens the risks among young people of acute problems, which are increased further by alcohol consumption. (B.C./trans.fl)