The number of drug related deaths across Europe has fallen after rising for several years; heroin use in many countries has stabilised; and the HIV epidemic among injecting drug users in central and eastern Europe is slowing down.
Figure 1.
In addition, measures to reduce drug related harm are intensifying, and drug users across Europe have better access to treatment and care.
These are the main findings to emerge from the latest annual report from the Lisbon based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, released on 25 November.
Georges Estievenart, the European Union's drug agency's director, warned, however, that some of the positive trends could be short lived: “We should not forget that drug use in general remains at historically high levels. Many countries are reporting rising cocaine use, and more people are using cannabis and ecstasy in parts of Europe,” he explained.
The report indicates that after reaching a peak in 2000 with 8838 reported drug related deaths, such deaths declined between 2000 and 2001-2 in many EU countries, especially Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal. The fall may be reversed, however, with the arrival in the European Union of 10 new member states earlier this year. Misuse of drugs is increasing in Slovenia and Estonia, for instance.
Cannabis remains the most common illegal drug in Europe, with some three million people using it on a daily basis. Roughly one in five adult Europeans had tried it at least once in their lifetime.
Among young people (15-34 years), prevalence of cannabis use ranges from less than 15% in Estonia, Portugal, and Sweden to 35% or more in Denmark, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. Some 30% of 15-16 year old school pupils in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain have tried the drug.
Annual Report 2004: The State of the Drugs Problem in the European Union and Norway is available at www.emcdda.eu.int