EMCDDA and EUROPOL launch in-depth review of amphetamine market

Increased capacity and sophistication in the illicit amphetamine market are among developments reviewed in the EMCDDA–Europol analysis Amphetamine: a European Union perspective in the global context

Published today, the report describes how patterns and trends are changing in the production and trafficking of this widely used synthetic stimulant and the chemicals used in its manufacture. It also looks at the people and organisations involved, and the scale of the problem in a global context.

According to the report, amphetamine can be termed a ‘European drug’, with data suggesting Europe to be world’s number one producer of the substance and a major consumer market. While, globally, methamphetamine is more widely used, amphetamine has stabilised as the most widely consumed stimulant drug in Europe today after cocaine. And in many countries, especially in the north and east of Europe, it is the second most widely used illicit drug after cannabis. Yet, say the agencies, while the drug attracts much less attention in the media and policy circles than cannabis, cocaine or heroin, it should not be treated as a ‘secondary issue’.

Around 12.5 million Europeans have used amphetamines in their lifetime, some 2 million having used it in the last year. European amphetamine markets are therefore “highly profitable business opportunities” for organised crime, states the report. Although some amphetamine is manufactured in small ‘kitchen’ laboratories, the vast majority is produced in middle to large or ‘industrial size’ facilities run by criminals operating across Europe and beyond.