Drug law offences: majority related to cannabis
The implementation of laws is monitored through data on reported drug law offences. In the European Union, an estimated 1.5 million drug law offences were reported in 2015, most of them (57 %) related to cannabis use or possession, involving around 1 million offenders. Reported offences increased by almost a third (31 %) between 2006 and 2015.
Overall, reports of drug supply offences increased by 18 % since 2006, with an estimate of more than 214 000 cases in 2015. Cannabis accounted for the majority of supply offences (57 %). There has been a sharp increase in reports of supply offences for MDMA since 2013.
Drug law offences in Europe related to drug use or possession for use or drug supply: indexed trends and reported offences in 2015
Possession/use offences Indexed trends
Supply offences Indexed trends
Number of offences
Data for offences for which the drug involved has been reported.
In Europe, overall, it is estimated that more than 1 million offences related to use or possession for personal use were reported in 2015, a 27 % increase compared with 2006. Of the reported drug offences related to possession, about three quarters involve cannabis (74 %). The upward trends in offences for amphetamines and MDMA possession have continued in 2015.
1.5 million drug law offences were reported in 2015