ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the use of drugs and therefore draws primarily on data from general and specific population surveys that examine the patterns, prevalence and trends in drug use in European countries. Illicit drugs are consumed in most parts of the world but, because the substances used, the modes of administration and the prevalence of use differ, drug situations can differ greatly between countries. The 2009 political declaration and plan of action on international cooperation towards an integrated and balanced strategy to counter the world drug problem. Several notifications of new illicit psychoactive drugs are made every year to the European early-warning system (EMCDDA 2010b), but for most of the reported substances, use remains limited to very small subgroups of drug users in a few countries. The introduction of High Dosage Buprenorphine Treatment translated, however, into very different levels of provision, with some countries placing opioid substitution at the core of their treatment system.
