Combining drugs now more widespread says EU Monitoring Agency
The report expressed concern about legal stimulants such as "spice" which are increasing being bought on the internet and mimic the effects of Cannabis.
The use of a combination of drugs is the norm amongst people who misuse substances according to the latest report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Their annual report found that users now rarely restrict their use to a single substance.
Wolfgang Götz, the head of the Lisbon based agency, unveiled their annual report to the Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee on 4 November. He summarised the issues saying "Today very often people become addicted to consumption of combination of legal and illegal substances, leading to joint alcohol and drug addiction".
The Director went on to say that "this increases the challenges and makes the treatment more complex. This is a problem, to which we must pay attention urgently".
Drug use in the EU
- Some 4 million adults have tried cocaine in the last year
- 4 million 15–64 year olds have tried cannabis
- Up to 2.5 % of all young Europeans could be using cannabis daily
- Report identifies growth of sale of psychoactive substances
According to the 2009 report, cocaine and heroin are maintaining a firm hold on Europe’s drug scene and there is little to suggest any improvement regarding their use. But on a more positive note, new data confirms a continued fall in cannabis use, particularly among young people.
EU States not sharing information on their policies
Dutch Liberal Sophia in 't Veld is the Vice-Chairwoman of the Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. She expressed her concern over the fact that there is a lack of cooperation between different countries about how effective their policies actually are.
The problem of drug abuse in prisons in Eastern Europe was raised by Romanian Member Csaba Sógor for the centre-right European People's Party. He asked whether countries were pursuing similar or different policies to combat drug abuse in jails - especially in the east of the continent.
The report says that despite the fact that in most countries it is theoretically possible to continue or start substitution treatment within the prison setting, in practice this is often difficult. Given the number of drug users within prisons in Europe, there is a pressing need to expand treatment opportunities it says.
Drugs being sold on internet under pseudonyms
For the first time the Lisbon based agency looked at the internet and drug abuse. Whilst it found the web could be useful for the prevention and treatment of drugs use and for highlighting the dangers, it noticed that more and more "psychoactive substances" are being sold on the net.
One example is "spice" which is often advertised as incense on the internet but when it is smoked has similar effects to cannabis. The Monitoring Agency say it is concerned by the growing instance of products that have been intentionally mislabelled and marketed aggressively.