New drug trends: Insights from focus group discussions - Civil society monitoring of harm reduction in Europe 2025

Drug use has been a persistent feature of human societies, with people consuming substances for a variety of reasons. Despite substantial investments in demand reduction strategies, drug use and drug supply continues to rise globally. In 2023, an estimated 316 million people reported drug use in the past year, representing 6% of the global population aged 15–64.

Currently, the World Drug Report indicates that cannabis continues to be the most prevalently used illicit substance, followed by internationally controlled opioids. In Europe, the most widely used illicit drug is also cannabis, but it is followed by cocaine. Availability of cocaine has increased in the past year and, although crack cocaine is still less used than powder cocaine, its use is rising, particularly among marginalised people. Ketamine availability has also increased and there are some indications that it became acommonly preferred substance in certain contexts, but data suggests that ketamine consumption is not prevalent in Europe. At the same time, local production of synthetic drugs, including amphetamine, MDMA, and cathinones, has grown within the continent, raising concerns that proximity to consumer markets may trigger rapid shifts in consumption trends, which existing monitoring systems and responses may not be equipped to address.