COCAINE ADVANCES, CRACK AND KETAMINE ON THE RISE: MORE DRUGS IN THE EU

BRUSSELS • The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) annual report sounds an alarm bell. The Fentanyl problem persists, and Italy sees an increase in drug cocktails.

Brussels – The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner, assures that the fight against drugs "is a priority for the European Commission," and the data produced by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in its latest annual report on illicit drugs make these commitments even more urgent. Trafficking and the market know no halt; on the contrary, they are flourishing increasingly. Italy, in particular, is experiencing new products, becoming a new hub for ketamine and its derivatives.

"An increase in the number of patients entering treatment for problems related to ketamine use has been observed in Belgium, Germany, and Italy," the report states. In Italy, the hallucinogenic substance is mainly taken in drug mixtures. The so-called "pink cocaine" is increasingly popular, a blend of ketamine, MDMA, and a third variable substance among cocaine, amphetamines, or new psychoactive substances. In 2024, at least three countries reported the detection of pink cocaine to the EU Early Warning System on new drugs database, "with most cases reported by Spain and Italy."

Cocaine: A Resilient and Strengthening Market

Regarding cocaine, the substance remains at the top of sales and consumption charts. The EMCDDA notes that in the last year alone, 4.5 million people used it, of whom 2.7 million were young people (15-34 years old). Regular users are estimated to be 17.2 million. The prohibited goods continue to enter and exit mainly through ports via containers. However, loading and unloading points have changed, diverted to smaller ports with fewer controls. New marketing methods make the fight against trafficking even more difficult: increasingly, cocaine enters Europe as a 'compound,' the EMCDDA reports. One of the new modus operandi is concealment in plastic, to which it is chemically bonded. Once in Europe, specialized laboratories recover the cocaine to place it on the market.

The result of all this is a successful system for drug traffickers: "Overall, cocaine trafficking into Europe and the production of this drug within the European Union represent a dynamic and resource-intensive challenge for law enforcement and customs authorities." This allows for loose controls, and trade continues unabated.

Between Old and New Challenges: Fentanyl and Crack Raise Concerns

The picture for combating the sale and use of fentanyl is not improving and is now a problem for the European Union as well. The "good news," if one can call it that, is a stationary scale and phenomenon, at least according to available data. The 2025 drug report states that the number of deaths related to fentanyl and its derivatives remained almost unchanged: 153 fatal cases in 2023, compared to 159 in 2022. "Many of these cases," the report notes, "were associated with fentanyl diverted from medical use rather than produced for the illicit drug market."

The evolution in the spread and use of crack is "worrying," increasingly reported and recorded in a growing number of countries. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of patients undergoing crack treatment for the first time increased by 35 percent, from 2,700 to 3,700 cases. But "amphetamines and synthetic drugs represent a new challenge," acknowledges EMCDDA Board Chairman, Franz Pietsch. In the last year alone, approximately 2.3 million people aged 15-64 are estimated to have tried amphetamines, with 9.7 million Europeans believed to be regular users.

The challenges, however, do not end there. Regarding synthetic drugs such as amphetamines, MDMA, and cathinones, there is evidence of "increased production in Europe, and concerns exist that this local production, closer to consumer markets, could trigger more rapid changes in consumption trends." Europe is thus becoming a production hub, with all the associated repercussions.

What specific measures do you think EU member states should prioritize to address the rising challenges highlighted in the EMCDDA report?