DDN_April_2025 DDN April 2025 | Page 4

NEWS ROUND-UP

European MDMA market rapidly evolving, say EUDA and Europol

Europe’ s criminal groups are expanding MDMA produc­tion, refining their trafficking methods and‘ extending their reach to new countries and regions’, says a joint report from Europol and the European Union Drugs Agency( EUDA).

The European MDMA market is estimated to be worth almost EUR 600m a year, the document says. This equates to around 72m ecstasy tablets consumed in the EU, with more than 12m Europeans having used the drug at least once in their lifetime.
While MDMA is usually made using large industrial reactors – the‘ high pressure’ method – manufacturers are constantly adapting their production process es in response to shortages of precursor chemicals or equip ment. Restrictions on the availability of high-pressure reactors, for example, has led to producers in the Netherlands switching to the‘ cold method’, which is associated with increased risk of fires and explosions.
Precursor chemicals are usually obtained by criminal networks with links to legitimate businesses, the report points out, while producers also bypass legal controls by sourcing unregulated alternative substances from China and elsewhere. Producing MDMA can also generate up to 3,000 tonnes of chemical waste a year – which is‘ typically dumped away from the production sites, causing health hazards, environmental damage and costly clean-ups’.
Outside of the‘ buoyant’ EU market and profitable markets in Asia and Oceania, there are signs that Latin America is becoming an increasingly important destination for European MDMA, the report states – using traditional cocaine trafficking routes‘ in the opposite direction’. The average MDMA content per tablet was as high as 170mg in 2019, the report states, but had fallen to 144mg three years later – likely the result of the temporary fall in demand during the pandemic. Research by The
Loop found that almost half of the MDMA sold at English music festivals in 2021 was in fact fake – up from just 7 per cent two years previously( DDN, July / August 2022, page 4).
While the trend of seeing rising amounts of MDMA in pills‘ seems to have reversed’, potent tablets are still very much in circulation, the report warns.‘ Ecstasy tablets that contain high amounts of MDMA, or unexpected ingredients, pose serious risks,’ said EUDA executive director Alexis Goosdeel.‘ Harm reduction measures, like drugchecking services, are crucial to mitigate the dangers. Tailored prevention and treatment services are more critical than ever, as MDMA tablets may contain new psychoactive substances that could have
‘ Tailored prevention and treatment services are more critical than ever.’
ALEXIS GOOSDEEL
harmful consequences.’
EU drug market: MDMA – indepth analysis at https:// www. euda. europa. eu / publications / eudrug-markets / mdma _ en
ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy

Government announces £ 310m grant funding

THE GOVERNMENT HAS PUBLISHED its 2025-26 drug, alcohol and recovery grant funding for local authorities. The allocations will see £ 310m go to councils to‘ build on their vital work of improving outcomes for people who need treatment and recovery support’ said public health minister Ashley Dalton.
A number of grants that were previously used to support drug and alcohol treatment – the inpatient detoxification, housing support, rough sleeping drug and alcohol treatment and supplemental substance misuse and recovery grants – have this year been consolidated into a single grant, the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery improvement grant( DATRIG). Commissioning of inpatient detox will continue to be organised through regional or subregional consortiums, the government adds.
Drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding allocations 2025 to 2026 at www. gov. uk

PHS issues‘ nitazinetype’ overdose warning

PUBLIC HEALTH SCOTLAND( PHS) is urging caution after the recent increase in overdoses – some fatal – among people using heroin. Some of these have been characterised by‘ sudden and rapid collapse’ the agency states, often requiring multiple doses of naloxone.
A‘ nitazene-type opioid’ has already been identified in some heroin samples linked to the overdoses, with more testing needed to determine the specific type. The overdoes have occurred‘ across Scotland in multiple areas’, the agency warns, with the nature of the country’ s drug supply meaning that people in all areas may be at risk of increased harm. January’ s RADAR report from PHS found that the drug supply throughout the country remained‘ highly toxic and unpredictable’.
‘ We are keen that people who use drugs and their families and friends are aware of the risk, and what they can do to reduce that risk,’ said Scottish Drugs Forum CEO Kirsten Horsburgh.‘ Please try to avoid using alone and make sure naloxone is available.’ The Metropolitan Police also issued a warning last month after more than 30 people in Camden were taken ill in the space of a week.
4 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • APRIL 2025 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM