2024-06-11 18:25:15
The drug drawback in Europe is worsening: there are increasingly more new unlawful substances – and the variety of deaths can be growing.
The consumption of unlawful medicine is changing into an more and more major problem in Europe. In its 2024 drug report, which was revealed at this time on the EMCDDA headquarters in Lisbon and Brussels, the European Monitoring Centre for Medication and Drug Habit (EMCDDA) speaks of a “rising menace”. Extremely potent artificial substances, new drug mixtures and altering consumption patterns are presently significantly harmful.
“Folks in Europe are more and more mixing completely different medicine and taking doubtlessly lethal cocktails of various kinds of medicine,” reported EU House Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. “Drug use is getting worse (…) Folks do not know what they’re taking.”
Amongst different threats, the EMCDDA describes the “rising opioid drawback” as a trigger for excellent concern. Since 2009, a complete of 81 new artificial opioids have appeared on the European drug market, careworn Johansson. “Criminals are always growing new medicine to keep away from detection,” complained the Swede.
It’s estimated that there have been at the least 6,392 drug-related overdose deaths within the European Union in 2022. That is solely a slight improve in comparison with 2021 (6,166). Nevertheless, along with the upward pattern that has been happening for years – 5,796 deaths had been reported in 2020 and 5,141 the 12 months earlier than – it ought to be famous that that is solely a minimal estimate.