Posted on 09 Dec 2024
This is the first report of the GI-TOC European Drug Trends Monitor, an output of our Observatory of Organized Crime in Europe. This series of bulletins will track developments in European drug markets to provide an analysis of trends in availability, pricing and criminal dynamics across 11 major cities (see the map below).
European drug markets are undergoing considerable changes, triggered by the confluence of several major trends in supply and demand. These include an oversupply of cocaine, a growing crack epidemic, significant shifts in the production of heroin in Afghanistan, the gradual emergence of synthetic opioids, the partial legalization of cannabis in some countries and the rise in synthetic stimulants such as synthetic cathinones, especially against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
As drug markets rapidly transform, with consequences for public health, criminal dynamics and related violence, the European Drug Trends Monitor seeks to provide up-to-date analysis to inform public debate and supplement data from governments and international organizations.
The monitor relies on field research, analysis of data provided by authorities, information gained through interviews and the monitoring of media and incidents such as drug seizures. It also draws on analysis of social media channels where illicit drugs and prescription drugs are being commercialized. The field research findings are referred to in the text but are not referenced throughout. The European Drug Trends Monitor initiated its first round of data gathering and field research in September 2024.
This bulletin summarizes key findings for two sets of substances that are of major concern: opioids and cocaine/crack cocaine. There are methodological limitations and caveats on how to interpret the findings: no toxicological analysis of the surveyed substances can be conducted, therefore caution needs to be applied in analyzing the data; the analysis lacks comparisons due to the absence of previous data; and the research focuses only on the supply of illicit drugs, not the potential demand for them, limiting explanations of the size of drug markets.
