Vienna, March 9. The aging of the population that consumes opioids and the growing economic difficulties of certain vulnerable groups require more controls and more drug treatment and prevention programs in Europe, warns a UN report published this Thursday in Vienna.
According to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the aim is to “reduce the harmful health and social consequences of drug use”.
The document recalls that the European continent continues to be an important region with regard to the manufacture, trafficking and consumption of illegal drugs.
“Most illicit drug-related activities are recovering from the temporary changes brought about by mobility restrictions and lockdowns due to the covid-19 pandemic,” the INCB says.
Moreover, he points out, the innovative and adaptive capacities of drug trafficking networks seem to have led to greater availability of most drugs and lower prices, as well as an increase of the potency of substances.
Along with this phenomenon, drug consumption habits in Europe have become more complex, with more problems linked to the consumption of drugs or new psychoactive substances, such as ketamine, GHB, known as liquid ecstasy, or GBL, in certain countries. .
“The spread of cocaine use, particularly ‘crack’ among marginalized populations in some cities and countries, is of growing concern, as is the use of illicit opioids mixed with benzodiazepines and other forms of polyconsumption”, warns the INCB. EFE
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