Drug-related research in Europe

The state of the drugs problem in Europe

The information below has all been taken from the 2008 Annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, hard copies of the full report can be ordered from: bookshop.europa.eu

The following is a brief summary of the information from this report. I have kept this brief in case there is not much interest, if you want to see more then just let me know after all this website is here to meet your needs [ed].

On a positive note this report has shown that there is increasing attention accross most European states to address substance misuse issues, with 13 member states redrafting or reviewing their national strategies. Apparently every member state, with only one exception, now has a national drug policy document with emphasis on comprehensive and balanced policies.

Criminal justice

Intrestingly, even though there is often an assumption that more and more people are being arrested for drugg-related offences, this report shows there has been only a 12% increase in offences concerned with the supply of drugs. However there has been a 50% increase in offences which relate to posession. One theory put forward by the report is that it is administratively easier to charge someone with posession than supply.

Young people

Young people are  often portrayed as consuming large quantities of drugs with no conception or concern about the potential or actual risks of such behaviours. Again the report has challenegd these stereotypes and showed that 81% to 96% of young people view heroin, cocaine and ecstasy as drugs which carry a high health risk. With 95% believing that such drugs should continue to be controlled in Europe. Cannabis has a different picture with only 40% viewing it as having a high health risk and 43% viewing it as a medium health risk similar to the risks of alcohol and tobacco use.

Drug treatment

Drug treatment still appears to be attracting large numbers of people, with the numbers seeking help for dependency continuing to rise. Many countries now have a large proportion of their problem opioid users in long term treatment. A positive consequence of this has been that policy is less focused on treatment uptake and instead more focussed on treatment quality and outcome. A new focus is what can be classed as a positive long term outcome. Whilst employment is desired by policy makers and patients alike, it can often be challenging for such patients to reintegrate sucessfully into the workplace. Thankfully these are areas which are being looked at across Europe to try and find ways to both define and achieve positive long term outcomes. 

Another interesting point is the diversity of drug use and the structures and intereventions available to those who do not use opiates, but have issues with other substances such as cannabis. This I think is a challenging issue for the UK where significant money and resourcea have been put into working with opiate-dependent people, yet there is still the question of how to treat the many other people with differing addiction needs.