By Martin Banks - 5th November 2009
Cocaine and heroin continue to maintain a firm hold on Europe´s drug scene
Wolfgang Gotz
A new report has raised concern over the public's "continuing appetite" for cannabis.
The study published on Thursday by the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addition (EMCDDA) says 74 million people, a quarter of the continent´s adult population, have used the drug at some time in their lives.
It found that 23 million people had used it in the past year.
Other findings show there are some four million "active" users of cocaine in Europe while 1.5 million people have used opiates, mostly heroin, in the past year.
"The overall situation is stable but there are areas of concern, not least the public's continuing appetite for cannabis," EMCDDA director Wolfgang Gotz told reporters.
The report says the internet is now a "major marketplace" for some "psychoactive" substances, "allowing retailers to offer to a broad public alternatives to controlled drugs".
Gotz said, "For most forms of consumption, we are not seeing major increases and, in some areas, trends appear to be downwards.
"While it is important to acknowledge these positive developments, we must also pay heed to ongoing concerns.
"Cocaine and heroin continue to maintain a firm hold on Europe's drug scene and there is little to suggest at present any improvement regarding their use."
He also voiced concern that methamphetamine, a drug associated with severe public health problems, may be "diffusing into new territory" in Europe.
"Though this drug is yet to make significant inroads into the stimulant drug market in western Europe, where cocaine and amphetamine still dominate, this drug appears to be becoming more available in parts of northern Europe," he added.
"This needs careful monitoring given the relative ease with which it can be produced."
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