EU fight against drugs fails to stem abuse

Date: 17/12/1998

By Myles Neligan

National and EU initiatives to combat drug trafficking and use in the Union have so far had little effect, according to the latest research by the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

In its annual report, which is due to be published tomorrow (18 December), the centre will warn that while overall drug use remains unchanged, worrying new trends are now emerging.

These include a steady increase in the consumption of synthetic drugs such as amphetamines and ecstasy, the emergence of a new generation of young heroin users who smoke rather than inject the drug, and the spread of the use of narcotics from large urban centres to small towns and rural communities.

The report drawn up by the Union's official drugs monitoring agency will also show that despite a sharp increase in police seizures of ecstasy, amphetamines, cocaine and heroin since 1994, the average EU price for these substances has remained stable.

This suggests that increased police surveillance and cross-border cooperation have not prevented drug suppliers from being able to meet demand.

The EMCDDA also draws attention to a strong trend towards the imprisonment of drug users over the past ten years. While some countries have recently adopted a more lenient approach towards drug offenders, the report estimates that drug users account for between 25-70&percent; of the prison population across the EU as a whole.

Patterns of drug use vary across the Union, but surveys show that the UK and Ireland have the highest proportion of drug users. More than 40&percent; of British adults and 38&percent; of their Irish counterparts have used cannabis.

The European Commission, which last year launched a high-profile initiative to crack down on the production and sale of synthetic drugs, admits the EMCDDA's findings show more work is needed.

“You could say that the programme needs to be reinforced,” said a spokeswoman for Anita Gradin, the Commissioner with responsibility for anti-drugs measures. “But the true value of the report is that it gives us a better picture of what is going on. It is a very useful tool in formulating drugs policy.”

The Commission plans to begin internal discussions in the new year on its next five-year anti-drugs plan, which is due to come into force when the current programme expires at the end of 1999. Officials say that the EMCDDA's latest research will form the basis of discussions.

The agency's annual report for 1998 includes, for the first time, a survey of the drugs situation in ten central and eastern European countries. It concludes illegal drug use is less prevalent in these countries, but has increased steadily since the political changes of the early 1990s, chiefly because more drugs pass through the countries on their way to the West.