Brussels, 27/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - Although cannabis remains the most-consumed drug in the European union, cocaine is catching up fast, despite record seizures of this illegal substance, according to a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), which was published on Thursday 22 November. “Illegal drug use in the EU may have stabilised for the first time in a decade, but cocaine use continues to increase”, the European Commission notes in a press release.
In 2006, around 4.5 million Europeans used cocaine (1.3% of the average population), which equates to one million more than the previous year, according to the 2007 report by the EMCDDA on the “State of the Drugs Problem in Europe”. The national percentages for the prevalence of consumption during a lifetime vary from 0.2% to 7.3%, with three countries declaring values higher than 5% (Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom). Cocaine enters Europe mainly via Spain and Portugal. It is imported directly in other countries, notably the Netherlands. Furthermore, 107 tonnes of cocaine were seized in 2005, a figure which is 45% higher than in 2004. Spain was the scene for half of all seizures made and quantities intercepted in Europe. In 2005, the average retail sales price for cocaine varied considerably within the EU (from €45 - €120 per gram), with most countries reporting prices between €50 and €80 per gram. The average prices for cocaine, corrected for inflation, generally followed a downward curve between 2000 and 2005 in most countries. The figures available for the period 2000-2005 show that the average purity of cocaine has fallen overall in most of the countries. In 2005, the average purity of cocaine at consumer level varied between 20% and 75%, with most countries declaring purities between 30% and 60%. In total, the number of deaths linked to drug use remained high, at around 7000 to 8000 in the 27 member states of the EU plus Norway and Turkey in 2005, the last year for which these figures are available. An increase of over 30% in fatal overdoses was recorded in Greece, Austria, Portugal and Finland, according to the annual report. “The high levels of drug-related deaths and worrying increase of cocaine use in some member states underlines the necessity for continued European cooperation” to put an end to the sales of drugs on a large-scale, stressed European Commissioner for Justice, Liberty and Security Franco Frattini, quoted in the press release. The report also indicates that nearly a quarter of adults in the EU - some 70 million people - admit that they have tried cannabis at some point during their lives, and 23 million had tried it during the previous year. The highest levels of cannabis consumption in people under the age of 34 years were recorded in Spain, the Czech Republic, France and Italy. Heroin use and the consumption of drugs by injection are on the decline. On the other hand, the EMCDDA notes that the stabilisation or sustainable general improvement observed in heroin consumption in Europe is called into question by the increase in the production of opium in Afghanistan. In 2008, the European Commission is to carry out an assessment, with the support of the EMCDDA, of the impact of the drug action plan of the European Union (2005-2008). The specific programme “Drug Prevention Information”, established for 2007-2013, has a budget of €21.35 million. The first call for proposals is to be published in December. (B.C.)