Europe faces growing synthetic opioids risks as drug market evolves, EU agency warns

PARIS/MADRID, June 9 (Reuters) – Europe’s illicit drug market is undergoing a rapid shift, with synthetic opioids emerging as a concern, although the region still experiences far fewer fatal overdoses than North America, the European Union Drugs Agency stated in its annual report.

The Lisbon-based agency, drawing on data from the 27 EU member states, Norway and Turkey, noted that at least 50 new psychoactive substances were identified for the first time in Europe in 2025.

The report highlighted rising risks from substances such as nitazenes, found in counterfeit benzodiazepines and street drugs like cocaine, heroin and ketamine.

Nitazenes were tied to 195 deaths in England and Wales in 2024, nearly four times the prior year’s count. In Bulgaria, fentanyl was linked to over 100 deaths between 2024 and 2025, with fatalities spreading beyond the capital, Sofia, to other cities.

The report also warned of a reshuffling in supply routes, with cocaine arriving through smaller, less-scrutinised ports and cannabis now flowing from Canada and the United States, as regulatory changes in North America and overproduction-driven lower prices may incentivise sourcing there.

EU countries reported around 1 million drug seizures in 2024, with cannabis accounting for 68% of the total. The agency valued Europe’s illicit cannabis market at €12 billion, as experimental legislation in Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and Czechia now allows limited legal purchasing or growing.

Cannabis remains the most widely used product, with 24.9 million adults aged 15 to 64 reporting use in the past year. New trafficking methods, including drones and speedboats, have complicated enforcement, the agency said.

Cocaine remains the second-most prevalent drug, with 4.3 million adults reporting use in 2024.

The report disclosed an estimated 7,600 fatal overdoses across the EU in 2024, with a mortality rate of 25 deaths per million people aged 15 to 64.

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Paris and David Latona in Madrid)