European Drugs Report 2025 highlights rise in synthetic substances; agency director questions whether CBD could be considered a precursor

(updated 6/6/2025 at 23:57 PM)

The European Drugs Agency (EUDA) presented yesterday in Lisbon the 30th Drug Report 2025: Trends and development, which warns of the increase in synthetic substances such as cathinones, nitazenes and cannabis productss synthetic or with the addition of semi-synthetic cannabinoids. Given this increase in supply and demand for synthetic cannabinoids created from CBD, EUDA Executive Director Alexis Goosdeel questioned whether CBD could be considered a precursor in the future, and thus subject to tighter controls and regulations. - measures that invariably affect the hemp sector.

Although the EUDA was only created in 2024, this agency received the legacy of the now defunct European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, thus celebrating three decades of collecting and presenting data on the consumption and markets of illicit and addictive substances in Europe.

According to the data in the new report, all known chemical and synthetic drugs show the same trend: increased consumption, an increase in production laboratories in Europe, an increase in the availability of drugs on the market, an increase in trafficking, crime and violence – all of this also confirmed by the increase in seizures.

Dr Franz Pietsch, EUDA Board Member; Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration; and Alexis Goosdeel, EUDA Executive Director, at the press presentation of the latest European Drugs Report 2025. Photo: Margarita C. de Meneses | CannaReporter®

The challenges of the “new cannabis”

New challenges also arise when it comes to cannabis. According to the report, it is estimated that “24 million European adults (aged 15 to 64) have used cannabis in the last year”, and “the average THC content of cannabis resin has doubled over the last decade, to 23% in 2023, more than double that of herbal cannabis (stable at 11%).” In the previous report, the percentage of European cannabis users was 22.8 million.

The increase in potency in cannabis, as well as the supply/demand of synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, and the existence on the market of natural cannabis sprayed with synthetic cannabinoid sprays, are clear trends – which have already led to the creation of new regulatory measures related to some of these substances. According to Alexis Goosdeel, Executive Director of the EUDA, these are factors of concern for observers, as a result of which there has been a greater number of risky consumption and health problems associated with cannabis.

In summary, in relation to cannabis the report reveals the following:

• Around 1,5% of European adults (4.3 million people) use cannabis daily or almost daily;
• The potency of cannabis resin (hashish) remains very high: on average 23% THC, while in the flower the average potency is 11% THC;
• Hashish and flower continue to be the most consumed products;
• There has been an increase in the variety of cannabis-based products – including products with high THC potencies that have been linked to acute toxicity crises reported in hospital emergency departments;
• Many of these products are sold on the illicit market and may contain potent synthetic cannabinoids;
• HHC, a semi-synthetic cannabinoid recently added to Schedule 2 of the list of illicit substances, was on the market in several European countries;
• Increasing product diversity exposes consumers to greater risk.

The possibility of considering CBD as a precursor to synthetic cannabinoids

Synthetic cannabinoids, as can be seen, combined with increasingly potent cannabis, are two of the EUDA's main concerns due to the increase in cases of toxicity associated with the consumption of these products.

Goosdeel stressed the relevance of these data and the need for further research and greater focus on this issue, referring to the importance of carefully studying the different models of legalization of recreational cannabis in each country. “The direction that European policies will take is not clear. What is clear, however, is that the development of policies in this area must be accompanied by an assessment of the impact of the changes introduced,” reads the summary of the document, which also calls for improved monitoring of usage trends.

After explaining the difference between natural and synthetic cannabinoids (the latter are laboratory-created molecules that mimic the chemical structure of natural ones), the EUDA Executive Director clarified that although both have the same effect on the brain, the impact of synthetics is different. “In some cases, they are more toxic and can kill. But people don’t know what they are consuming, we don’t know what they are consuming. It is difficult to present the risk,” he confessed. “What we see is that in products containing cannabinoids, there is an increase in those that have a mixture of cannabinoids of plant origin with sprayed semi-synthetic cannabinoids,” he warned.

And in the face of this upward trend, Alexis Goosdeel raised an “important question”: given that semi-synthetic cannabinoids are created from CBD, can this be considered a precursor [active ingredient for the production of a new substance] of a semi-synthetic cannabinoid and, therefore, “if they continue to spread in Europe, perhaps one day CBD should be considered a precursor?” Goosdeel asked.

The inglorious task of Sisyphus 

Alexis Goosdeel presents the results of the EUDA’s European Drug Report 2025 at the agency’s headquarters in Lisbon. Photo: Margarita C. de Meneses | CannaReporter®

To talk about the challenges that the current situation brings, the Director of EUA began his presentation by making an analogy with the legend of Sisyphus, a character from Greek mythology condemned to push a stone to the top of a mountain, until it reaches the peak and falls, only to start all over again.

Goosdeel referred to the need for balance and perseverance, taking into account the changes observed, such as “therapid market changes, increased intimidation, drug-related violence and the increased involvement of vulnerable young people around the world.”

Chemical and synthetic drug production laboratories in European territory have also been multiplying and the use of European borders by criminal organizations to transport substances and equipment to create these drugs and laboratories has become more frequent. 

These substances are sold through various channels, “especially the surfaceweb, a little less than the dark net, but the use of social networks is increasingly evident,” explained Goosdeel.

The EUDA Executive Director, who will hand over the role in the coming months after a long career in this area, also explained that in the last year the availability [of drugs] has been the highest they have ever seen: “'Everywhere, everything, everyone' continues to be one of the key phrases to describe the current situation”, he concluded.

On the other hand, polyconsumption is now a practice “standard", presenting a major challenge in terms of prevention, treatment and harm reduction. But according to Goosdeel, there are also new substances, new risks and new harms. “Last December,” he revealed, “we detected a total of 1,000 active substances through the European drug information system – 1,000 substances that had never been detected before.”

The importance of looking at the data

The issue of drugs is a truly complex issue. As mentioned in this session, each country has its own drug legislation and decisions are made at the political (and economic) level, often out of line with the indications of the existing body of data and the available scientific conclusions. CAs EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner commented, “good policies are made when there is good data – that is how it should be, but in politics it is not always like that”.

In fact, in today's session the importance of having consistent data – “the data” – was mentioned several times. It should be remembered thatThe European drug agencies have already produced 30 annual reports on the European drug situation, and many other reports and analyses are produced annually by other related institutions.

Given this, and the speakers' calls for attention to the need to think of new strategies to combat drugs, CannaReporter took advantage of the question and answer time at the end of the session to question the Executive Director of the EUDA and the European Commissioner about the possibility of one of these strategies being the legalization of all drugs, given that data It is quite consistent that prohibition is a global policy that has not yielded good results.

Alexis Goosdeel responded, explaining that “there are decisions made by five member states [that have legalized recreational cannabis use] to adopt a regulatory model, and we provide scientific support and assistance to understand and assess what the impact will be, so until there is knowledge of the impact, there is no way to draw any scientific conclusions. However,” he continued, “there is some experience from countries – not in all of them that it has been regulated, but for example in Canada, there is good data and a good assessment – ​​and what I find very interesting is that in the reports that Canada produces, they talk about what works, what doesn’t work, what are the new problems or new questions, and I think this is the way to work on policies.” However, Goosdeel concluded by saying that “the only way this could become a European decision is if one day we have a clear majority of the 27 member states proposing that the whole group take a common initiative. And I don’t see this happening any time soon, but it doesn’t mean that we won’t see more countries deciding to regulate.”

The EUDA Executive Director also said that it is very important to look at the decriminalization of drugs in Portugal, “because experience shows that, contrary to what everyone thought 25 years ago, if decriminalization is part of a broader model that brings together the police, work with communities, harm reduction interventions and public health, it does not lead to an increase in drug use.” But the world is different now and it will be necessary to adapt to new realities. “The truth is that the situation has changed and when I go to the [Portuguese] Assembly of the Republic and politicians ask me if they should change the national strategy, I say no, because it is based on facts, and data – so look at the data and, if reality changes, they will have to adopt new measures and new innovative responses because the situation is not what it was 20 years ago”, he advised.

And if there are more substances on the market today, it does not necessarily have to be because work in the area of ​​drugs has failed. For Goosdeel, “availability has changed, the forms of consumption have changed and are more complex, as have the risks and harms, but also the impact of crises and COVID”, and one of the most alarming consequences of this is the high number of people who report not having good mental health. “All of these factors interact in the way people use any type of substance, including alcohol”, warned the director of the agency.

The fight against organized crime continues, but we need to update our weapons 

During his intervention, Commissioner Magnus Brunner also spoke of the importance of giving EU law enforcement authorities legal access to data so that they can gather information about trafficking networks and their members and perform their role more effectively. “Access to data is essential to combating criminal activity,” he said. “In many cases, the hands of the agents are tied.” This, however, requires adjustments to encryption and personal data protection policies – a complex and difficult issue to address.

Brunner also promised that the EU “will continue to fight organized crime by cutting off funding and seizing illicit profits from drug trafficking – the most lucrative illegal business in the world.”

To this end, they are working on creating an international communication network between ports and “developing a new strategy and a new legal framework for precursor substances [active ingredients that allow the creation of new synthetic drugs]”.

The Commissioner acknowledged that turning the strategy into reality will require a lot of work, but said he was willing to do so.

For his part, the EUDA Executive Director left another note in the same tone: “It will be a long road until a solution can be found”, he said.

More and more synthetic – more potent and more worrying

Regarding the conclusions of this latest report, Alexis Goosdeel presented part of the results pointing to “three specific groups” of substances that “seem to be changing more quickly than others or that, recently, seem to be more visible”.

Stimulants:

According to Goosdeel, “there has been a huge increase in the availability of cocaine and crack. In 2023, 419 tons of cocaine were seized, and according to the data collected, decreased in 2024”.

This may seem like good news, but “this increased availability is associated with a decrease in the last step of the technical process of cocaine production in the EU – which represents an increase in the associated harm and social and health problems. The report mentions that in 25% of the overdoses analyzed (1 in 4) cocaine was found to be cut with opioids”, he explained.

It was also found that more amphetamines and ecstasy produced in the EU are circulating. But synthetic cathinones are, moreover, one of the substances with the most abrupt growth on the market: if in 2021 4,5 tons had been registered, in 2023 the number has already risen to 37 tons. 

The statement delivered at the official presentation, which took place at the EUDA headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, states that “the EU Rapid Alert System (SAR) on new psychoactive substances (NPS) identified seven new synthetic cathinones in 2024, bringing the total number of these new substances to 178”, also drawing attention to a greater availability of synthetic cathinones, “which is reflected in unprecedented imports and seizures”.

Cathinone is the active substance found in the leaves and shoots of khat, a natural stimulant widely used in Arab countries (chewed), with an effect similar to that of amphetamines. This component is chemically reproduced, through small variations in its formula, obtaining the synthetic cathinones that are in circulation today, much more potent and toxic than the original substance.

New synthetic opioids:

According to this year’s EUDA drug report, 2009 new synthetic opioids have been registered since 88, and “by 2024 all seven new synthetic opioids were nitazenes”. Currently, European authorities are monitoring around 22 different nitazenes.

Nitazenes are powerful chemical painkillers that bind to the same receptors as heroin. The concern is that they are even more potent than the most deadly synthetic opioid to date: fentanyl. This substance, which has caused thousands of overdoses in the US in recent years, is also on the European market, but to a much lesser extent. And despite its high toxicity, it is less dangerous than nitazene.

In this group, Goosdeel also mentioned Bezemidazole, confessing that “we still don’t know much about these substances”, but showing hope that the European network of forensic laboratories will produce more information about this substance in the near future.

Although ketamine was not mentioned in this group, it is worth noting that this analgesic, used legally in hospital settings, has also been gaining ground among European consumers: 14% of users reported its use in the last year (13% in 2023), with “relatively low levels of this substance being found in wastewater from 82 cities in 22 European countries and Norway”, the report states. 

Cannabinoids:

As mentioned above, synthetic cannabinoids, combined with increasingly potent cannabis, are two of the EUDA’s main concerns, due to the increase in hospital emergency cases associated with the consumption of these products.

Finally, Goosdeel referred to the results of the last European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), published about a month ago, which points to a decrease in substance use by the school-age population (namely cannabis), but also to a worrying increase in other addictions, such as e-cigarettes, unsupervised/non-clinical use of drugs, gambling and online gaming. 

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Margarita Cardoso de Meneses

More postsBiography

Margarita has been a regular contributor to CannaReporter since its inception in 2017, having previously worked for other cannabis-focused media outlets such as Cáñamo magazine (Spain), CannaDouro Magazine (Portugal) and Cannapress. She was part of the original team for the Portuguese edition of Cânhamo in the early 2000s and was part of the organisation of the Global Marijuana March in Portugal between 2007 and 2009.

He recently published the book “Canábis | Cursed and Wonderful” (Ed. Oficina do Livro / LeYA, 2024), dedicated to spreading the history of the plant, its ancestral relationship with the Human Being as a raw material, entheogen and recreational drug, as well as the infinite potential it holds in medicinal, industrial and environmental terms.

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