A new report finds that cocaine use in England and Wales are the highest in Europe and higher than in the United States. The annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction finds that 9.4 percent of people in England and Wales have used cocaine. There have been notable increases in deaths connected to cocaine use in the past year.
The report said that drug users are experiencing more health problems than before, primarily because the cocaine is being cut or mixed with other substances. Drug traffickers are becoming more sophisticated in the way they get the cocaine into Europe. The powder is often transported in things like beeswax, fertilizer, clothing, herbs, plastics and liquids.
"This development is indicative of high levels of innovation and technological sophistication among those importing cocaine into the European Union," read the EMCDD report.
Cocaine use among people aged 15 to 34 is higher in England and Wales than in the United States, Canada, Australia and the rest of Europe. The report discovered that 24 new synthetic drugs were identified last year in Europe.
"There is a need to remain vigilant and to be able to respond rapidly to new developments, such as new chemical groups of psychoactive substances identified in ‘legal high’ products."
