A report released today by Europol has shown Irish young adults to be the biggest users of illegal psychoactive drugs in the entire European Union.
The report, entitled The EU Drug Markets Report 2016 also showed increasing links between drug trafficking and other forms of crime including terrorism.
They also found technological advances and readily available online information is accelerating the pace at which drugs are distributed around the world.
Ireland accounted for 5% of all ecstasy seizures in the world last year, and 8% of survey respondents had said they had tried psychoactive substances.
The report also noted that Irish drugs gangs are now dealing with large international cartels directly, as opposed to using a middleman which was how the Irish drugs trade used to operate.
Alexis Goosdeel, President of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction spoke at a press conference:
“The EU drug market is driven by two simple motives: profit and power. Understanding this, and the wider impact drug markets have on society, is critical if we are to reduce drug-related harm. This knowledge is essential for the development of new strategies for tackling crime and safeguarding the health, security and prosperity of our citizens.”
