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It’s no secret that Colombia is one of the biggest markets for producing/supplying cocaine to the rest of the world. In recent years, there has been cause for concern that the instances of cocaine use are actually increasing. In the United States, we battled cocaine perhaps the most heavily in the 1980s shortly after it was introduced. However, lately, it looks like it’s Europe’s turn at bat.

According to U.N. figures released in June of last year, cocaine use has almost tripled over the past decade in Europe while the consumption of cocaine in the United States has dropped significantly. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), despite the fact that so few admit to having tried or used cocaine, the percentage is much higher in urban areas such as Britain, Spain and the Netherlands. And what’s worse is that it’s getting worse. Many officials claim that they are anxious about what sort of negative impact will occur in Europe, stating that they feel wholly unprepared for the kind of epidemic that the United States was forced to go through back in the 1980s (from which we are just now emerging billions of dollars later).

The Negatives

Europe is prime real estate for drug traffickers due to the open borders as well as the value of the euro. For instance, in the United States, it would cost around $20,000 for a kilogram of uncut cocaine versus $40,000 in Spain. Drug traffickers are able to move with ease throughout Europe selling drugs to people who are willing to buy. The vast majority of drug traffickers are still Colombian, but some are also Venezuelan and Mexican.

With increased supplies, cocaine has most become a problem in Spain because of problems with smuggling illegal drugs on ships. European officials tend to believe that the Colombian cartels have long-standing connections with Spain that is partly based on language similarities. An article in Time Magazine from 2007 additionally stated:

Last year, Spanish police seized 46 tons of cocaine in joint operations with British, Italian and Dutch drug patrols, while Portuguese officials intercepted about 30 tons. By comparison, only about 74 tons of cocaine were seized in all of the E.U. countries in 2004…

What do you think about cocaine use? Do you think it’s getting better or worse?

For more information on cocaine addiction and dependency, contact Mark Houston Recovery today!

Tags: Addiction, Drugs, News //