Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

In this podcast, we'll talk about the EU illicit drugs market.

We'll look at current demand and supply trends, the challenges ahead, and the EU's response to this increasingly complex and global problem.

About one in three adults in Europe, from as young as 15, up to 65 years old, have tried

illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime, especially men.

Mostly it's cannabis, but also cocaine and synthetic drugs such as MDMA and amphetamines, which are not only increasingly

available with the help of the internet, but also cheaper to buy and stronger than ever.

The reality is Europe is a big market for illicit drugs, not only in terms of consumption,

but also in terms of production and supply.

Indeed.

Drugs have been trafficked into and through the EU for decades, but they are also produced

in the EU, both for local and global markets, as is the case for cannabis and synthetic

drugs like amphetamines.

And Europe's cocaine market is one of the largest in the world.

The EU Early Warning System, which allows the EU and member states to exchange information

on new narcotic and psychoactive substances that appear on the market, detects more than

50 new psychoactive substances in the market each year.

And it's a lucrative business.

With an estimated minimum retail value of 30 billion euro per year in the EU,

it is the largest criminal market in the EU,

which explains why more than one third of the organized criminal groups active in the EU are involved

in it, and it poses a very serious threat to the EU. In 2019, more than 5,000 Europeans died

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