The EU Drugs Agency's annual report warns that synthetic opioids and new psychoactive substances are increasingly shaping Europe’s illicit drug market. Nitazenes were linked to 195 deaths in England and Wales in 2024, and fentanyl caused over 100 deaths in Bulgaria in 2024–25. The report also notes about 1 million seizures in 2024, a €12 billion illicit cannabis market, and an estimated 7,600 overdose deaths across the EU that year.
EU Warns Synthetic Opioids and New Drugs Are Reshaping Europe's Illicit Market
Euro flag and medicines are seen in this illustration taken, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
The European Union Drugs Agency's annual report warns that Europe's illicit drug market is changing rapidly, with synthetic opioids and a surge in new psychoactive substances heightening risks across the region — even as Europe still records far fewer fatal overdoses than North America.
Key Findings
The Lisbon-based agency, using data from the 27 EU member states plus Norway and Turkey, identified at least 50 new psychoactive substances first detected in Europe in 2025. The report highlights growing threats from nitazenes and other synthetic opioids, which have been found in counterfeit benzodiazepines and mixed into street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and ketamine.
Deaths Linked To Synthetic Opioids
Nitazenes were linked to 195 deaths in England and Wales in 2024, nearly four times the previous year. In Bulgaria, fentanyl was associated with more than 100 deaths between 2024 and 2025, with fatalities spreading beyond the capital, Sofia, to other cities.
Shifting Supply Routes And Sources
The report warns of a reshuffling of trafficking routes. Cocaine is increasingly entering Europe through smaller, less-scrutinised ports. At the same time, cannabis shipments are increasingly sourced from Canada and the United States, driven by regulatory changes and North American overproduction that have reduced prices and created new incentives for suppliers.
Scale Of The Market And Enforcement Challenges
EU countries reported about 1 million drug seizures in 2024, with cannabis accounting for 68% of those seizures. The agency estimated Europe’s illicit cannabis market at roughly €12 billion. Experimental legalization measures in Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and Czechia — allowing limited legal purchase or home cultivation — are altering market dynamics.
Cannabis remains the most widely used drug in Europe, with 24.9 million adults aged 15–64 reporting use in the past year. Cocaine is the second-most prevalent, with 4.3 million adults reporting use in 2024. New trafficking methods, including drones and speedboats, are complicating law enforcement efforts.
Mortality
The report estimates about 7,600 fatal overdoses across the EU in 2024, equivalent to a mortality rate of 25 deaths per million people aged 15–64.
Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Paris and David Latona in Madrid.
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