While EU-15 Member State drug consumption has stayed relatively stable, consumption of illicit drugs has seen a sharp increase in the countries now joining the Union. These are the findings of a report issued by the EU’s drugs agency, EMCDDA.
The agency notes that drug use has increasingly come to be seen as a leisure activity in these countries and the consumption levels have risen steadily in line with alcohol and tobacco use. Of particular concern is drugs in youth culture and the associated numbers of young people experimenting with drugs. Heroin has seen the biggest increase in consumption, replacing locally produced drugs, while cannabis is most widely used.
The EMCDDA warns that the EU must take more concerted action to reverse this trend by encouraging harm reduction, prevention and treatment, rather than purely ’law-and-order’ measures. Their report calls for EU-15 states to provide more support to the CEEC.
