Europe’s drugs agency is warning about the growing threat of synthetic cathinones, lab-made drugs also known as “bath salts,” which are increasingly being imported and produced on the continent.
In its new edition of the European Drug Report, published Thursday, the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) warns about emerging threats in a “constantly evolving” European drug market, which include the growing availability of cocaine, new synthetic opioids and the diversification of the synthetic stimulants market beyond the more common amphetamine and methamphetamine.
“The rise of highly potent substances and more complex patterns of drug use is placing health and security systems under strain,” EUDA Executive Director Alexis Goosdeel said in a statement. “This calls for a general overhaul of our approach and a shift from monitoring the situation to actively assessing and strengthening our preparedness.”
There have been “unprecedented imports and seizures” of synthetic cathinones in 2023, the EUDA writes, and the more widespread availability and use of these substances raise “concerns about increased health and social problems.”
“Bath salts” pose similar health risks to other stimulant drugs such as amphetamine and methamphetamine — known as speed and meth. These include overdoses, acute and chronic mental health problems and spread of infectious diseases. But synthetic cathinones can contain higher potency substances that might have different and more severe health risks, the agency warns.
Poland stands out as a production hub for the drug in Europe. In 2023, authorities dismantled 53 synthetic cathinone production sites across the continent — compared to 29 in 2022. Forty of them were in Poland. “This is one illustration of the significant intensification of drug production in Europe,” the EUDA said.
The quantity of synthetic cathinone seized in Europe has been rising over the past few years, going from 3.3 metric tons in 2020 to 26.5 metric tons in 2022. In 2023, the number went up to 37 tons, according to the report.
Already in 2024, the agency had warned that production of “bath salts” was growing in parts of Europe and there were “signs” that a small number of synthetic cathinones were “becoming established” in stimulant markets on the continent.
The drug was traditionally largely imported from China, but now there have been growing imports from India, coming into Europe primarily through the Netherlands.
Synthetic opioids and cocaine
In the report, which looks at data from 29 countries (the 27 EU members, Turkey and Norway), the agency also highlighted the threat posed by the emergence of new synthetic opioids, which feature particularly in the Baltic countries.
These drugs are highly potent and a small amount can pose elevated life-threatening poisoning risks. In particular, nitazene opioids have recently entered the European drug market and their availability is increasing.
Drug-induced deaths went up, from 7,100 in 2022 to 7,500 in 2023, mostly caused by a combination of opioids and other substances.
Cocaine is the second most commonly used illicit drug in Europe — after cannabis — and the most commonly consumed illicit stimulant drug, used by around 4.6 million European adults in the last year.
The EUDA is warning that the availability of cocaine is continuing to increase, in the form of both cocaine powder and crack cocaine, an increase which is “having a growing negative impact on public health in Europe.”
Cocaine residues in wastewater also increased in several cities, which “suggests that as cocaine has become increasingly available, so too has its geographical and social distribution,” it said.
EU countries also seized record quantities of cocaine for the seventh consecutive year, amounting to a 418 metric tons in 2023, compared to 323 metric tons in 2022. Nearly three-quarters of the total quantity taken was seized in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.
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