EMCDDA news

I am proud to introduce today the EMCDDA’s Single Programming Document (SPD) for the period 2022–2024. This new programming period starts at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is still unfolding. And while the EMCDDA has proved its capacity to rapidly adapt to the new reality, uncertainty remains on how the possible new waves of the pandemic will impact on our work, the work of our partners, and indeed, on the needs of our customers. 27.01.2022 

This month, France took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU with the motto ‘Recovery, strength and a sense of belonging’. Over the next six months, the country will lead work at all levels of the Council, building cooperation, agreement and solidarity between EU Member States. 25.01.2022 

On International Day of Education, we are pleased to announce the launch of PLATO, the EMCDDA’s new e-learning platform, following a successful six-month pilot phase in 2021. The first e-learning course of 2022 on the new platform kicks off this week (25 January) targeting prevention decision-makers in the substance use field.     24.01.2022 

New survey results released today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) reveal that cannabis and ecstasy use are the drug-consumption patterns most impacted by COVID-19 restrictions (1). The European Web Survey on Drugs found that, while herbal cannabis use increased, use of ‘party drug’ MDMA/ecstasy declined. The survey ran between March and April 2021 in 30 countries (21 EU and 9 non-EU) when many populations were under COVID-19-related lockdowns. 19.01.2022  European Web Survey on Drugs: Results

The European Commission has proposed today to strengthen the EMCDDA's mandate to ensure that the agency plays a more important role in identifying and addressing current and future challenges related to illicit drugs in the EU. The proposed changes include issuing alerts when dangerous substances are knowingly sold for illicit use, monitoring the addictive use of substances taken together with illicit drugs, and developing EU-level prevention campaigns. The EU drugs agency will also play a stronger international role. 12.01.2022