The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction ( EMCDDA ) has just released its annualEuropean Drug Reportfor 2016 , revealing that both MDMA and synthetic cannabis are currently on the rise across the continent , while the United Kingdom , Spain , the Netherlands and Belgium are the part ’s leading snorters of cocaine .
According to the reputation , a number of societal , economic and technological changes are influencing drug - pickings tendencies in Europe . For example , the recent recurrence to popularity of MDMA appears to have been ease by improving production techniques , leading to the creation ofultra - double-dyed pills and powders . The emergence of online markets on the dark entanglement is also helping to plug in buyers and seller , and looks like encouraging the spread of so - callednew psychoactive substances(NPS ) .
NPSs are synthetic compounds that are designed to mime the effects of pop illegitimate drug like cannabis , MDMA and amphetamines . In 2014 , European police busted 50,000 cargo of NPSs , around 60 per centum of which were made up ofsynthetic cannabinoids .
These are designed to bind to the same brain receptors as THC ( the active ingredient in locoweed ) , although the paper warns that many of these products are much strong and more toxic than marijuana . For instance , the writer mention a type of celluloid cannabinoid cry MDMB - CHMICA that has been responsible for 13 death and 23 other non - fatal intoxications .
Regarding more traditional drugs , cannabis remain the issue one centre of choice in Europe , with around 84 million people having try out it at some tip in their life sentence . Total weed sale across the continent are estimated at around 9.3 billion euros in 2014 ( $ 10.4 billion ) , making up around 38 percent of all drug sales in Europe .
The next most pop drugs are heroin and cocaine , which accounted for 28 percentage and 24 per centum of all revenue gained from narcotic in Europe in 2014 .
Though cocaine use is slump in many countries , nose in London , Amsterdam , Antwerp and Barcelona remain relatively well stocked with line of the blanched stuff and nonsense , with more than 3 percent of young adults ( ripened 15 to 34 ) in these cities having used the drug in the past twelvemonth .
Sadly , though , it ’s not all fun and game , as overdose expiry seem to be on the rise , reaching 6,800 in 2014 . More than three - quarters of these Byzantine Male , with opioid drugs like heroin being responsible for 82 percentage of all fatal overdoses .
