By Catarina Demony
LISBON (Reuters) – A surge in production of potent new drugs in Europe that can lead to poisoning and death requires more investment in services and stronger policies against illicit substances, an EU study said on Friday.
The report by the Lisbon-based EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) said the scale and complexity of illicit drug output within Europe was growing and that users were now exposed to a wider range of psychoactive substances.
The situation was exacerbating “complex policy problems”, such as homelessness and youth criminality, it said.
The report said that almost everything with psychoactive properties now had the potential to be used as a drug. They appear on the market often mislabelled or in mixtures, said the EMCDDA director Alexis Goosdeel.
Some of those substances include synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones and opioids. At the end of 2022, the EMCDDA was monitoring around 930 new psychoactive substances.
In a statement, Home Affairs EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson said she was “deeply concerned…the substances consumed in Europe today may be even more damaging to health than in the past”.
People who use new synthetic drugs may be at greater risk of harm to their health, including poisonings and deaths, as these may be sold in similar-looking powders or pills so consumers may be unaware of what they are taking, EMCDDA said.
Goosdeel said the report was “a stark reminder that illicit drug problems can be found throughout our society”, and called for more money to be invested in health services to meet more diverse and complex needs.
It said more services, such as drug consumption rooms or drug checking services, were needed to help mitigate health risks arising from the new substances and mixtures and that users should be alerted to the risks associated with consuming these drugs.
The agency said that, overall, coverage and access to “harm reduction” interventions remained inadequate in some EU countries.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Aislinn Laing, William Maclean)
