Publications database

Cannabis is the illicit drug most likely to be used by all age groups. The drug is generally smoked and, in Europe, is commonly mixed with tobacco. Patterns of cannabis use can...

Drug use, in particular high-risk drug use, is one of the major causes of avoidable mortality among young people in Europe, both directly through overdose and indirectly through drug-related diseases, accidents, violence...

Drug-related infectious diseases (DRID) are among the most serious health consequences of drug use. The DRID indicator collects data on the extent of drug-related infections amongpeople who inject drugs. This group is...

The European Union is one of the most urbanised areas in the world and its cities are set to become more densely populated. Currently 73 % of the EU population resides in...

The financial crisis that hit the global economy in the summer of 2007 has no precedent inpost-war economic history. It differed from other fluctuations in its magnitude and the degree to which...

Knowledge of the extent and patterns of drug use in the general population, and their changes over time, is a key aspect in understanding the drug phenomenon in Europe and in monitoring...

‘Synthetic cannabinoids’ or, more correctly, synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs), are synthetic chemicals that mimic the effects of the natural psychoactive substances found in cannabis. ‘Legal high’ products containing SCRAs have been...

Since 1997, the EMCDDA has played a central role in Europe's response to new psychoactive substances. Its main responsibilities in this field are to operate the EU Early Warning System, with its...

Much attention is focused on the many new drugs emerging alongside the apparent decline in the use of established substances, such as heroin. In this globalised, inter-connected world the situation can change...

Some drug users go on to develop more severe forms of use, defined by the EMCDDA as ‘high-risk drug use’: ‘recurrent drug use that is causing actual harms (negative consequences) to the...