The European Drug Report for 2025
The European Narcotics Agency (EUDA.) presented yesterday in Lisbon the 30th Report on Drugs 2025: Trends and Developments, which warns of an increase in the number of synthetic substances such as cathinones, nitazenes and cannabis products synthetic or with the addition of semi-synthetic cannabinoids. Given this increase in the supply and demand for synthetic cannabinoids created from CBD, EUDA Executive Director Alexis Husdel wondered if CBD could be considered a precursor in the future and therefore subject to stricter control and regulation. – measures that invariably affect the cannabis sector.
Although EUDA was only established in 2024, this agency inherited the legacy of the now-defunct European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, marking three decades of collecting and reporting data on the consumption and markets of illegal and addictive substances in Europe.
According to the new report, all known chemical and synthetic drugs show the same trend: increased consumption, increased laboratories for their production in Europe, increased availability of drugs on the market, increased trafficking, crime and violence — all this is also confirmed by the increase in seizures.
Dr. Franz Pietsch, member of the EUDA Board; Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration; and Alexis Husdel, Executive Director of EUDA, at the press presentation of the latest European Drug Report for 2025.
The problems of the “new cannabis”
New problems are also emerging with regard to cannabis. According to the report, “24 million European adults (aged 15 to 64 years) people used cannabis last year,” and “the average THC content in cannabis resin has doubled over the past decade, reaching 23% in 2023, which is more than double that of herbal cannabis (stable at 11%).” In the previous report, the percentage of European cannabis users was 22.8 million.
The increasing potency of cannabis, as well as the supply/demand for synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids and the existence of natural cannabis sprayed with synthetic cannabinoid sprays on the market, are clear trends that have already led to the creation of new regulatory measures related to some of these substances. According to Alexis Gusdil, executive director of EUDA, these factors are of concern to observers, as a result of which there is an increase in the number of cases of risky consumption and health problems related to cannabis.
To summarize, regarding cannabis, the report reveals the following:
About 1.5% of European adults (4.3 million people) use cannabis daily or almost daily;
The effect of cannabis resin (hashish) remains very high: an average of 23% THC, while in flowers the average effect is 11% THC;
Hashish and its flowers are still the most consumed products.;
There has been an increase in the variety of cannabis-based products, including products high in THC, which have been linked to acute toxic crises reported in hospital emergency departments.;
Many of these products are sold on the black market and may contain potent synthetic cannabinoids.;
HHC, a semi-synthetic cannabinoid recently added to List 2 of the list of prohibited substances, has appeared on the market in several European countries;
The growing variety of products puts consumers at greater risk.
The possibility of considering CBD as a precursor to synthetic cannabinoids
Synthetic cannabinoids, as can be seen, combined with increasingly potent marijuana, are the two main problems of EUDA due to the increase in cases of toxicity associated with the use of these products.
Gusdil stressed the relevance of these data and the need for further research and greater attention to this issue, mentioning the importance of carefully examining the different models of recreational marijuana legalization in each country. “The direction in which European policy will develop is unclear. However, it is clear that policy development in this area should be accompanied by an assessment of the impact of the changes being made,” says the summary of the document, which also calls for improved monitoring of usage trends.
Explaining the difference between natural and synthetic cannabinoids (the latter are laboratory-created molecules that mimic the chemical structure of natural ones), the EUDA executive director explained that although both have the same effect on the brain, the effect of synthetics is different. “In some cases, they are more toxic and can kill. But people don’t know what they consume, we don’t know what they consume. It’s hard to imagine the risk,” he admitted. “We see that in products containing cannabinoids, there is an increase in those that have a mixture of plant-based cannabinoids with sprayed semi—synthetic cannabinoids,” he warned.
And against the background of this upward trend, Alexis Gusdil raised an “important question”: given that semi—synthetic cannabinoids are created from CBD, can this be considered a precursor [active ingredient for the production of a new substance] of a semi-synthetic cannabinoid and, therefore, “if they continue to spread in Europe, perhaps one day CBD should be considered a precursor?” – Gusdil asked.
The Inglorious Work of Sisyphus
Alexis Gusdil presents the results of the EUDA European Drug Report for 2025 at the agency’s headquarters in Lisbon. Photo: Margarita K. de Meneses | KannaReporter®
Speaking about the problems that the current situation brings with it, the EUA director began his speech with an analogy to the legend of Sisyphus, a character from Greek mythology who was condemned to push a stone to the top of a mountain until it reached the top and fell, after which everything would start all over again.
Gusdil cited the need for balance and perseverance, taking into account the observed changes such as “rapid market changes, increased intimidation, drug-related violence, and increased involvement of vulnerable young people around the world.”
Laboratories for the production of chemical and synthetic drugs in Europe are also increasing, and the use of European borders by criminal organizations to transport substances and equipment for the creation of these drugs and laboratories is becoming more frequent.
These substances are sold through various channels, “especially the surface of the web, a little less than the dark web,” But the use of social media is becoming more and more obvious,” Gusdil explained.
The executive director of EUDA, who will transfer this position in the coming months after a long career in the field, also explained that over the past year, the availability of [medicines] has been the highest they have ever seen: “”Everywhere, everything, everything” is still one of the key phrases to describe the current situation.”, — he concluded.
On the other hand, polyconsumption has now become a practice.a standard that poses a serious problem in terms of prevention, treatment, and harm reduction. But, according to Gusdil, there are also new substances, new risks and new harms. “Last December,” he said, “we discovered a total of 1,000 active substances through the European Drug Information System — 1,000 substances that had never been detected before.”
The importance of studying data
The drug problem is a really difficult problem. As mentioned in this session, each country has its own drug legislation, and decisions are made at the political (and economic) level, often at odds with the guidance of the existing body of data and available scientific findings. Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, commented on SKAK: “Good policy is made when there is good data — this is how it should be, but this is not always the case in politics.”
In fact, in today’s session, the importance of having consistent data – “data” – was mentioned several times. It should be remembered that the European drug control agencies have already prepared 30 annual reports on the drug situation in Europe, and many other reports and analyses are prepared annually by other relevant agencies.
Taking this into account, as well as the speakers’ calls to pay attention to the need to develop new strategies to combat drugs, CannaReporter took advantage of the question and answer time at the end of the session to ask the Executive Director of EUDA and the European Commissioner about the possibility of legalizing all drugs as one of such strategies, given that it is quite natural that prohibition is a global a policy that has not produced good results.
Alexis Gusdil responded by explaining that “there are decisions made by the five member states [that have legalized the recreational use of cannabis] to adopt a regulatory model, and we are providing scientific support and assistance to understand and assess what the impact will be, so until there is knowledge of the impact, there is no way to do any scientific conclusions. However,” he continued, “there is some experience from countries — not all of them have regulated this, but, for example, Canada has good data and a good assessment — and what I find very interesting is that the reports that Canada produces say that it works. what’s not working, what are the new problems or new questions, and I think that’s the way to work on politics.” However, Gusdil summed it up by saying that “the only way this can become a European solution is if one day we have a clear majority of the 27 member states suggesting that the whole group come up with a common initiative. And I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see more countries choosing to regulate.”
The EUDA executive director also said that it is very important to consider the issue of drug decriminalization in Portugal, “because experience shows that, contrary to what everyone thought 25 years ago, if decriminalization is part of a broader model that unites police, community work, harm reduction measures and public health, it is not it leads to an increase in drug use.” But now the world is different, and it will be necessary to adapt to new realities. “The truth is that the situation has changed, and when I go to the [Portuguese] Assembly of the Republic and politicians ask me if they should change the national strategy, I say no because it’s based on facts and data – so look at the data,” and if reality changes, they’ll have to adopt new ones. measures and new innovative responses, because the situation is not the same as it was 20 years ago,” he advised.
And if there are more substances on the market today, it doesn’t necessarily have to be because work in the field of drugs has failed. According to Gusdil, “accessibility has changed, forms of consumption have changed and become more complex, as have the risks and harms, as well as the impact of crises and COVID,” and one of the most worrying consequences of this is the large number of people reporting poor mental health. “All these factors interact in the way people consume any type of substance, including alcohol,” the agency’s director warned.
The fight against organized crime continues, but we need to upgrade our weapons.
During his intervention, Commissioner Magnus Brunner also spoke about the importance of providing EU law enforcement agencies with legitimate access to data so that they can collect information about human trafficking networks and their members and perform their role more effectively. “Access to data is essential to combat criminal activity,” he said. “In many cases, the agents’ hands are tied.” However, this requires adjustments to encryption and personal data protection policies, which is a complex and difficult issue to resolve.
Brunner also promised that the EU “will continue to fight organized crime by cutting off financing and confiscating illegal proceeds from drug trafficking, the most lucrative illegal business in the world.”
To this end, they are working to create an international communication network between the ports and “develop a new strategy and a new legal framework for precursors [active ingredients that allow the creation of new synthetic drugs].”
The Commissioner acknowledged that making the strategy a reality would require a lot of work, but said he was ready for it.
For his part, the EUDA executive director left another note in the same tone: “There is a long way to go before a solution is found,” he said.
More and more synthetic – more powerful and more disturbing
Regarding the conclusions of this latest report, Alexis Gusdil presented some of the results indicating “three specific groups” of substances that “seem to be changing faster than others or that have recently seemed more noticeable.”
Stimulants:
According to Gusdil, “there is a huge increase in the availability of cocaine and crack. In 2023, 419 tons of cocaine were seized, and according to the data collected, it was reduced in 2024.”
This may seem like good news, but “this increase in availability is due to a reduction in the last stage of the technical process of cocaine production in the EU, which represents an increase in collateral harm and social and medical problems. The report mentions that in 25% of the overdose cases analyzed (1 out of 4), it was found that cocaine was diluted with opioids,” he explained.
It was also found that more amphetamines and ecstasy produced in the EU are in circulation. But synthetic cathinones are also among the substances with the sharpest growth on the market: if 4.5 tons were registered in 2021, then in 2023 this figure increased to 37 tons.
A statement made at the official presentation, which took place at the EUDA headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, states that “The EU Rapid Alert System (SAR) for New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) identified seven new synthetic cathinones in 2024, bringing the total number of these new substances to 178,” and Attention is also drawn to the increased availability of synthetic cathinones, “which is reflected in unprecedented imports and seizures.”
Cathinone is an active substance found in the leaves and shoots of kata, a natural stimulant widely used in Arab countries (chew), with an effect similar to that of amphetamines. This component is chemically reproduced by small changes in its formula, producing synthetic cathinones that are in circulation today, much more powerful and toxic than the original substance.
New synthetic opioids:
According to this year’s EUDA drug report, 88 new synthetic opioids have been registered since 2009, and “by 2024, all seven new synthetic opioids have been nitazened.” Currently, the European authorities are tracking about 22 different nitazenes.
Nitazenes are powerful chemical painkillers that bind to the same receptors as heroin. The problem is that they are even more effective than the deadliest synthetic opioid to date: fentanyl. This substance, which has caused thousands of overdoses in the United States in recent years, is also present on the European market, but in much smaller quantities. And, despite its high toxicity, it is less dangerous than nitazene.
In this group, Gusdil also mentioned bezemidazole, admitting that “we still don’t know much about these substances,” but expressing the hope that the European network of forensic laboratories will provide more information about this substance in the near future.
Although ketamine was not mentioned in this group, it is worth noting that this analgesic, legally used in hospitals, is also gaining popularity among European consumers.: 14% of users reported using it last year (13% in 2023), while “relatively low levels of this substance were detected in wastewater from 82 cities in 22 European countries and Norway,” the report says.
Cannabinoids:
As mentioned above, synthetic cannabinoids combined with increasingly potent marijuana are two of EUDA’s main concerns due to the increasing number of hospital emergencies related to the use of these products.
Finally, Gusdil referred to the results of the latest European Alcohol and Other Drugs School Research Project (ESPAD), published about a month ago, which indicates a decrease in the use of psychoactive substances among the school-age population (namely cannabis), but also an alarming increase in other addictions such as e-cigarettes, uncontrolled/non-clinical use. drugs, gambling, and online games.