EMCDDA and UNODC sign joint work plan
(02.05.2012) Cooperation between the EMCDDA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) took a further step forward today with the adoption of a new joint work programme for the period 2012–14. Meeting in Vienna, EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz and UNODC Deputy Executive Director Sandeep Chawla endorsed the document, which supplements the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two agencies in 1998. The talks covered joint projects, priority areas of work and the evolving drug situation in Europe and worldwide. Continue reading »
EMCDDA-Europol Annual report reviews new drugs entering market
New drugs detected in the EU at the rate of around one per week, say agencies
(26.04.2012) New drugs were detected in the European Union last year at the rate of around one per week, according to the EMCDDA–Europol 2011 annual report on new psychoactive substances released today. A total of 49 new psychoactive substances were officially notified for the first time in 2011 via the EU early-warning system (EWS). This represents the largest number of substances ever reported in a single year, up from 41 substances reported in 2010 and 24 in 2009. Continue reading »
First state-of-the-art overview on new heroin-assisted treatment
EMCDDA report presents latest evidence on heroin-assisted treatment for hard-to-treat opioid users
(19.04.2012) A small population of chronic heroin users, once thought to be ‘untreatable’, is now benefitting from a novel type of therapy using medicinal heroin as the substitution drug. In a new EMCDDA Insights report out today, experts describe the development as ‘an important clinical step forward’. The report, New heroin-assisted treatment, provides the first state-of-the-art overview of research on the subject, examining the latest evidence and clinical experience in this area in Europe and internationally. Continue reading »
New EMCDDA multicity project on wastewater analysis
World Water Day 2012
(22.03.2012) The EMCDDA has recently launched a multicity ‘demonstration project’ to investigate the potential of wastewater analysis as an indicator for estimating community drug use levels. By the end of 2012, the project will have generated comparable data from at least 15 European cities, thanks to an agreed common sampling approach designed to ensure maximum comparability. To mark World Water Day, EMCDDA resources in the area of wastewater analysis are showcased on a special page devoted to the topic. Continue reading »
UK House of Lords publishes report on EU drugs strategy
European Union Committee conclusions and recommendations
(16.03.2012) In a report published today, the UK House of Lords European Union Committee looks at what the current EU drugs strategy (2005–12) has achieved, and what should come next. The report underlines the value of the strategy in ‘providing a guiding framework within which Member States can formulate their national drug policies’. The committee suggests that the next strategy should concentrate on ‘areas where the EU can make a major contribution’, such as the coordination of the fight against drug trafficking. It also underlines the need to encourage the development and improvement of the collection, analysis, evaluation and distribution of information on the drugs issue, praising the EMCDDA for its work in this field. Continue reading »
Global forum on combating illicit drug trafficking and related threats, 25–27 January 2012, Brussels
Director's speech
(25.01.2012) ‘We are facing a growing challenge to the way we protect our citizens from drug trafficking and the collateral damage that it brings with it’, said EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz in Brussels today on the eve of International Customs Day. Addressing participants at the opening of the World Customs Organization’s ‘Global forum on combating illicit drug trafficking and related threats’, he spoke of the ‘many opportunities’ but unfortunately also the ‘new threats’ brought by our modern joined-up world. Continue reading »
Latest analysis highlights changing trends in illicit production of amphetamine in Europe
EMCDDA and Europol launch in-depth review of amphetamine market
(15.12.2011) Increased capacity and sophistication in the illicit amphetamine market are among developments reviewed in the EMCDDA–Europol analysis Amphetamine: a European Union perspective in the global context. Published today, the report describes how patterns and trends are changing in the production and trafficking of this widely used synthetic stimulant and the chemicals used in its manufacture. It also looks at the people and organisations involved, and the scale of the problem in a global context. Continue reading »
