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- Hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin are becoming increasingly popular in Europe.
- The crown crisis is also promoting this development, says the EU Center for Drug and Addiction Monitoring.
- The Observatory is also concerned about many new drugs, such as synthetic opioids.
Large shipments of drugs are intercepted in Europe with increasing frequency. This suggests an increase in the amount of smuggling, according to a report by the Lisbon-based EU Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
In 2018, 181 tonnes of cocaine were seized in EU countries, a record. And heroin was also significantly more seized, in 2018 it was just under 10 tons.
Crown crisis makes people more vulnerable
It is true that Europe is far from being a devastating opioid crisis like the one that has shaken the United States for several years with more than 36,000 deaths (2019). In 2018 there were a total of 8,300 drug-related deaths in the EU. But Observatory experts warn that the “potential for increased heroin use and the damage that already exists” is cause for concern.
The crown crisis is also promoting this development. Due to the economic consequences of the pandemic, some people would become more susceptible to drugs.
Drug dealers adapt
Heroin and cocaine are not the only concerns. Among other things, “very potent cannabis”, new psychoactive substances and the appearance of eight new synthetic opioids in the last year alone are cause for concern.
Drug production in Europe has increased and become more diverse, it is said. And drug traffickers quickly adapted their approach to the new conditions of the corona pandemic: They have replaced street sales in part with online markets on the so-called Darknet, with increased activity on social media, and with parcel and home delivery services.
Violence is increasing
The drug mafia threatens not only the health, but also the safety of Europeans, EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson said when introducing the report. You can tell a song about this in the Andalusia region of southern Spain, one of the most important cocaine transshipment centers in southern Europe.
Unprecedented scenes of violence have been seen in Andalusia in recent weeks: just between the end of August and the beginning of September, drug traffickers rammed at least three police cars with their vehicles and some of them overturned. There were also several savage shootings and other attacks on officials.
