Cannabis is the most used drug in Europe, and opiates are on the rise.

Cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug in Europe and cocaine the most widely used stimulant, while opiate consumption, which has been declining since the last century, appears to be on the rise, a European report says.

This is one of the conclusions of the “European Drug Report 2023: Trends and Changes” produced by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA, its English acronym), presented this Friday in Brussels, which highlights that “greater supply diversity and drug use creates new problems for Europe”.

According to a document from the Lisbon-based agency, about 8%, which corresponds to 22.6 million European adults (aged 15 to 64), used cannabis in the past year.

Seizures of cannabis resin (816 tons) and cannabis herb (256 tons) in the EU reached their highest level in a decade in 2021, according to the data, “suggesting the high availability of this drug.”

It is estimated that around 97,000 users in Europe will undergo some form of drug treatment for problems related to cannabis use in 2021, while new cannabis products pose public health challenges.

In 2022, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) became the first registered semi-synthetic cannabinoid in the EU. It has been found in two-thirds of member states and is marketed as a “legal” alternative to cannabis in some European Union countries.

The 2023 report, which brings together data from 2021 and 2022, also reports record cocaine seizures and growing concerns about the use of synthetic stimulants.

The report also cites record cocaine seizures through European seaports and growing concerns about the use of synthetic stimulants.

In 2021, a record 303 tons of cocaine were seized in member states of the European Union, with Belgium (96 tons), the Netherlands (72 tons) and Spain (49 tons) accounting for nearly 75% of the total. .

Preliminary data for 2022 show that the amount of cocaine seized in Antwerp, Europe’s second largest seaport, increased from 91 tons in 2021 to 110 tons.

Evidence suggests that organized crime groups are also increasingly targeting smaller ports in other EU countries such as Portugal and countries bordering the EU.

Illicit cocaine production in the EU is also growing in importance, with 34 cocaine laboratories dismantled in 2021 (23 in 2020), some of which are very large.

According to the Portuguese judicial police, in 2022, according to preliminary data, 16.3 tons of cocaine were seized in the country.

Cocaine is the most commonly used illicit stimulant drug in Europe, used by about 1.3% (3.7 million) of European adults (15-64 years) in the past year, and is the most common substance associated with cases of acute intoxication in Europe. hospital emergency services in 2021, registered in 27% of cases.

There are also some indications that injecting and crack cocaine use is becoming more common among marginalized groups in some countries.

The report also indicated that “opioid-related problems in Europe are evolving”, with “heroin still being the most consumed illicit opioid in Europe”, but there is growing concern over the use of synthetic opiates in some regions.

Many synthetic opiates are extremely potent and pose a risk of intoxication and death. Only small quantities are needed to produce thousands of doses, making these substances far more lucrative for organized crime groups.

The amount of heroin seized by EU member states more than doubled in 2021 to 9.5 tons, with a record 22.2 tons seized in Turkey.

Nearly all heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghanistan, where the Taliban announced a ban on opium poppy cultivation in April 2022, the report said. that any drug shortage could be due to an increase in the supply and demand for synthetic opiates.