This is How Europe Takes Drugs in 2014

8/10/2019 This is How Europe Takes Drugs in 2014

1/14


2/14

For better or worse, the Old Continent has arguably been the world's most prolific drug-consumin

landmass for at least a century or so. In the 1930s, while Reefer Madnesswas convincing

Americans that smoking weed would turn their children into rapists, Turkey was supplying Greek

proto-hippies with the continents crumbliest hash in the 80s, Zurich turned Platzspitz Park into a

legal, open-air drug market and, in the early 90s, half of Manchester spent their weekends

existing almost exclusively on pills and poppers.

The situation is no different today. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

(EMCDDA) report estimates that around a quarter of Europes adult population have taken an

illegal drug in their lifetime, and states that the consumption of cannabis alone throughout the

continent adds up to around 2,000 tons every year.

Theres also Europes recent insatiable taste for legal highs to take into account. Over the past fe

years, drugs that sound like Diamond Head support bandsExodus Damnation", Dragon Pellet

King Cobra, etc.have made their way from the quiet head-shop stalls of Reading Festival to th

shouty headlines of the European press. And for good reason81 new legal alternatives to pills,

coke, and weed were discovered in 2013 alone, and each of those untested substances comes

with its own unique set of risks.

Worryingly, users in many countries have progressed from snorting, smoking, or ingesting these

chemicals to injecting them. That, of course, opens them up to all the regular, blood-borne dange

that intravenous users have been flirting with ever since people started poking needles full of gea

into their veins.

To give you a proper rundown of the current European drug climate, weve taken a bunch of

statistics from the Global Drug Survey 2014 (http://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/)and turned

them into the maps you see dotted throughout this post. We also dug through the 2014 European

Drug reportas well as a load of other recently released studiespulled out the most significant

points from a few of the countries surveyed, and turned them into easily digestible sentences so

you can remember them at a bar this evening.
http://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/


3/14

(http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159081/Drug-Map-01.jpg)

All graphs by Alex Vissaridis (Click to enlarge (http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159081/Drug-Map-

01.jpg))

DENMARK

According to one international survey aimed at drug users, cannabis was actually more popular in

Denmark than tobacco, with 66 percent of respondents saying they had smoked it in the last year

ESTONIAEstonia has a pretty serious problem with fetanyl, a very strong synthetic opioid. Because of this,

the country has the largest number of drug overdoses in Europe, and the rate of HIV outbreaks is

high.
http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159081/Drug-Map-01.jpghttp://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159081/Drug-Map-01.jpg


4/14


(Click to enlarge (http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159096/Drug-Map-02.jpg))

FINLAND

A drug sold as legal cocaineMDPV, a mephedrone-like substancehas caused a number of

deaths in Finland.

GREECE

As VICE reported last year (http://www.vice.com/en_us/vice-news/sisa-cocaine-of-the-poorfull-length), Greece is suffering a catastrophic problem with the drug called sisa, a type of

methamphetamine that can be as cheap as a dollar per hit.
http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159096/Drug-Map-02.jpghttp://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159096/Drug-Map-02.jpghttp://www.vice.com/en_us/vice-news/sisa-cocaine-of-the-poor-full-length


5/14



IRELAND

On average, a gram of weed in Ireland costs $27, making it the most expensive place to get

stoned in Europe.

NETHERLANDS

Dutch people fucking love taking stimulants. More than 50 percent of respondents to one surveyaimed at drug users in the Netherlands said they had taken MDMA in the past year, making it

more popular there than cannabis. The country is also big on producing pingers2.4 million

ecstasy tablets were seized in the Netherlands in 2012, the largest haul of pills ever intercepted in

the European Union.


6/14



NORWAY

Norway has the second-highest rate of drug overdoses in Europe, behind Estonia. According to

government figures, 76 per million people will die of a drug overdose in the country, due in part to

the capital Oslo's heroin-addiction problem.

ROMANIARomanians are getting into legal highs. In fact, they're now so widespread that more than a third o

those entering drug-treatment programs for the first time were doing so because of new

psychoactive substances. In comparison, only 21 percent of first-time patients were using heroin.

This is partly due to a shortage of heroin in the country in 2010 and 2011, with users switching to

the legal highs that you can just buy online. Injection of these drugs is now on the rise, with 33

percent of specialized drug-treatment participants injecting some form of legal high as their prima


7/14

drug, and with one needle and syringe program in Bucharest reporting that 51 percent of their

users were injecting new psychoactive substances.

(http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159476/1opi.jpg)

(Click to enlarge (https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0606/5b17761b60570/5b17762264aa9.jpg))

SPAIN

Acting as the gateway to Europe from Morocco, more than two thirds of cannabis resin seized in

the EU is in Spain. The country is also fond of synthetic cannabinoidsherbs sprayed with

chemicals that emulate the effects of cannabis. Although only 20 kilos were seized throughout the

first half of 2013, it's still the largest reported interception of this type of drug in Europe.

TURKEY

Turkey, as it has been for decades, remains a trafficking hotspot, with drugs destined for both the

European heroin market and the Middle East being seized. Since 2007, the country has also held

the enviable title of being the leading European country for herbal cannabis seizures.
http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159476/1opi.jpghttp://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159476/1opi.jpg


8/14



UK

Since being banned in 2010, mephedrone has made a substantial dent on the black market. The

were approximately 1,900 users of the drug entering treatment programs in 2011 and 2012, and

more than half of those users were under 18 years old. Some injecting users of the drug have

been mixing it with heroina cheaper version of a speedball, which is traditionally a mixture of

heroin and cocaine.

You may have already worked this out from the fact that trace amounts were recently found in the

national water supply, but the UK is Europe's leading consumer of cocaine, with nearly 10 percen

of the population stating that they have consumed the drug at least once in their lifetime.

Follow Joseph Cox on Twitter (http://josephfcox).
http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159105/Drug-Map-06.jpghttp://josephfcox/http://assets.vice.com/content-images/contentimage/159105/Drug-Map-06.jpg


9/14

RECOMMENDED

D r ugs 1 0 1 (/r e a d/dr ugs -1 0 1 ) D r ugs A r e n' t A lwa y s Tha t Muc h Fun (/r e a d/dr ugs -a r e nt-

always-that-fun)

S ynthetic D rugs A re N ow the Most C ommon D rug of

Choice Worldwide (https://news.vice.com/article/un-warns-

of-unprecedented-surge-in-synthetic-drug-use-worldwide)

Sisa: Cocaine of the Poor (/video/sisa-cocaine-of-the-poo

full-length)

-

TOPICS:drugs (/tag/drugs), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

(/tag/European+Monitoring+Centre+for+Drugs+and+Drug+Addiction) , European Drug Report 2014(/tag/European+Drug+Report+2014) ,popular drugs in (/tag/popular+drugs+in), Europe (/tag/Europe), UK (/tag/UK), Germany

(/tag/Germany), Ireland (/tag/Ireland), Belgium (/tag/Belgium), france (/tag/france), spain (/tag/spain), Portugal (/tag/Portugal),

Switzerland (/tag/Switzerland), Hungary (/tag/Hungary), cocaine (/tag/cocaine), MDMA (/tag/MDMA), Ketamine (/tag/Ketamine

cannabis (/tag/cannabis), weed (/tag/weed), which country takes the most drugs (/tag/which+country+takes+the+most+drugs),

Joseph Cox (/tag/Joseph+Cox), drug maps (/tag/drug+maps), heat maps (/tag/heat+maps)

CONNECT

(https://www.facebook.com/Vice) (https://twitter.com/vice)

(https://www.youtube.com/user/vice) (http://vicemag.tumblr.com/)

(http://instagram.com/vice) (/rss) (http://eepurl.com/hRGOk)

MOST POPULAR

(/read/the-fbi-and-obama-are-calling-out-north-korea-for-the-sony-hacks-1219)The FBI and Obama Are Calling Out North Korea for the Sony Hack

2 9 : 4 8
http://www.vice.com/tag/drugshttp://eepurl.com/hRGOkhttp://www.vice.com/read/drugs-101http://www.vice.com/tag/which+country+takes+the+most+drugshttp://www.vice.com/tag/heat+mapshttps://www.youtube.com/user/vicehttp://www.vice.com/read/drugs-101http://www.vice.com/tag/Joseph+Coxhttp://www.vice.com/tag/Germanyhttp://www.vice.com/tag/Portugalhttp://www.vice.com/tag/Belgiumhttps://twitter.com/vicehttp://www.vice.com/rsshttp://www.vice.com/video/sisa-cocaine-of-the-poor-full-lengthhttps://news.vice.com/article/un-warns-of-unprecedented-surge-in-synthetic-drug-use-worldwidehttp://vicemag.tumblr.com/https://news.vice.com/article/un-warns-of-unprecedented-surge-in-synthetic-drug-use-worldwidehttp://www.vice.com/tag/Irelandhttp://www.vice.com/tag/drug+mapshttp://www.vice.com/read/drugs-arent-always-that-funhttp://www.vice.com/read/the-fbi-and-obama-are-calling-out-north-korea-for-the-sony-hacks-1219http://www.vice.com/tag/MDMAhttp://www.vice.com/tag/cocainehttp://www.vice.com/tag/Ketaminehttp://www.vice.com/tag/Switzerlandhttp://www.vice.com/tag/European+Drug+Report+2014http://instagram.com/vicehttp://www.vice.com/tag/Hungaryhttp://www.vice.com/tag/spainhttp://www.vice.com/read/drugs-arent-always-that-funhttp://www.vice.com/tag/francehttp://www.vice.com/tag/cannabishttp://www.vice.com/tag/UKhttp://www.vice.com/tag/popular+drugs+inhttp://www.vice.com/tag/weedhttp://www.vice.com/tag/Europehttp://www.vice.com/tag/European+Monitoring+Centre+for+Drugs+and+Drug+Addictionhttp://www.vice.com/video/sisa-cocaine-of-the-poor-full-lengthhttp://www.vice.com/read/the-fbi-and-obama-are-calling-out-north-korea-for-the-sony-hacks-1219https://www.facebook.com/Vice


10/14

(/video/the-kkk-and-american-veterans-part-3-666)

The KKK and American Veterans - Part 3

(/read/the-reindeer-farmer-congressman-who-thinks-he-might-be-santa-claus-1219)

The Reindeer Farmer Congressman Who Thinks He Might Be Santa Claus

(/read/washington-dc-not-giving-up-on-legal-weed-1219)

DC Politicians Want to Start a War With Congress Over Legal Weed

0 6 : 3 5
http://www.vice.com/read/washington-dc-not-giving-up-on-legal-weed-1219http://www.vice.com/read/the-reindeer-farmer-congressman-who-thinks-he-might-be-santa-claus-1219http://www.vice.com/video/the-kkk-and-american-veterans-part-3-666http://www.vice.com/read/the-reindeer-farmer-congressman-who-thinks-he-might-be-santa-claus-1219http://www.vice.com/read/washington-dc-not-giving-up-on-legal-weed-1219http://www.vice.com/video/the-kkk-and-american-veterans-part-3-666


11/14

(/read/its-christmas-in-six-days-and-i-just-got-robbed-327)

Its Christmas in Six Days and I Just Got Robbed

(/read/i-saw-the-new-annie-so-you-dont-have-to-129)The New 'Annie' Movie Broke My Heart
http://www.vice.com/read/its-christmas-in-six-days-and-i-just-got-robbed-327http://www.vice.com/read/i-saw-the-new-annie-so-you-dont-have-to-129http://www.vice.com/read/its-christmas-in-six-days-and-i-just-got-robbed-327http://www.vice.com/read/i-saw-the-new-annie-so-you-dont-have-to-129


12/14

(/read/sex-positivity-children-775)Is This Weird, Controversial 'Sex Positivity for Kids' Video Really That Bad?

(/read/meet-the-dentist-who-will-fix-your-mouth-after-meth-ruins-it-429)Meet the Dentist Who Will Fix Your Mouth After Meth Ruins It
http://www.vice.com/read/sex-positivity-children-775http://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-dentist-who-will-fix-your-mouth-after-meth-ruins-it-429http://www.vice.com/read/sex-positivity-children-775http://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-dentist-who-will-fix-your-mouth-after-meth-ruins-it-429


13/14

(/video/the-kkk-and-american-veterans-part-2-666)The KKK and American Veterans - Part 2

(/read/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts-971)Is It Possible to Kill Someone with Farts?

0 9 : 5 4
http://www.vice.com/read/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts-971http://www.vice.com/video/the-kkk-and-american-veterans-part-2-666http://www.vice.com/read/can-you-kill-someone-with-farts-971http://www.vice.com/video/the-kkk-and-american-veterans-part-2-666


14/14

COMMENTS

Documents

This is How Europe Takes Drugs in 2014