This content was published in the EU4MD update released on 6.04.2022. This update also presents a section on partnerships, announcements, studies, upcoming events, and a research corner.
Ukraine: a partner in the EU4Monitoring drugs project
The EU4Monitoring Drugs (EU4MD) project team stands united in its solidarity with Ukraine. In these times of great uncertainty, we support our Ukrainian partners who remain committed to delivering results in very difficult circumstances. Our thoughts are with our colleagues and their families.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has been cooperating with Ukraine for over a decade. Launched in 2019, the EU4MD project funded by the European Union offered new opportunities to strengthen this cooperation.
Partnerships
2022 planning
Since the start of the year, the EU4MD project team has been holding bilateral meetings with the national contacts in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries. The main goal is to give an overview of ongoing and planned activities for 2022.
Key activities for this year include publications of results from various data collection exercises, the organisation of training sessions on drug market-related issues and the continued participation of experts from ENP partner countries in the EMCDDA’s annual Key indicator meetings .
Updates from ongoing activities
ENP partners and the European Drug Emergencies Network (Euro-DEN)
In 2021, six sentinel hospitals from five countries neighbouring Europe (Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Tunisia, Ukraine) participated in a drug-related emergencies data collection exercise.
In total, these countries reported 311 hospital presentations. The main drugs involved in the presentations were pregabalin in Algeria, unidentified substances in Israel, cocaine and cannabis in Lebanon, and cannabis in Tunisia.
On 26 January, the EMCDDA organised a workshop to present the first data collection (2021) on drug-related emergencies in sentinel hospitals. Experiences and challenges encountered during the data collection were also discussed.
Following the positive feedback received from the participants, a new data collection round will start in May 2022. To expand the network of the sentinel hospitals, a second online training session took place on 28 March.
Announcements
10th Extended Reitox meeting to focus on Youth
2022 marks the European year of youth.
To align with the European theme and to support exchanges with this specific group, the Extended Reitox meeting will focus on contemporary drug issues among young people.
The meeting will bring together all heads of European national focal points, partners from candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU and from the ENP area.
The meeting on 11 May will take place at the EMCDDA and will also allow remote participation for those who are not able to travel to Lisbon.
EU4MD final conference in the margins of Lisbon Addictions 2022
The EU4MD project will close at the end of 2022. The final conference will be organised in the margins of Lisbon Addictions 2022.
It is an ‘upon invitation only’ hybrid event with limited spaces for external participants. For more information or to request attendance, please contact eu4md_pct@emcdda.europa.eu.
New resources
European Drug Report 2021 now available in Arabic
The European Drug Report 2021 has been translated to Arabic and is now available online. The report presents the EMCDDA’s latest analysis of the drug situation in Europe. Focusing on illicit drug use, related harms and drug supply, the report contains a comprehensive set of national data across these themes and key harm reduction interventions.
The annual Trends and Developments report presents a top-level overview of the drug phenomenon in Europe, covering drug supply, use and public health problems, as well as drug policy and responses. The publication is an essential resource for developing evidence-based policies and responses.
يسرنا جدا إبلاغ سيادتكم بأن التقرير الأوروبي عن المخدرات لعام 2021 متاح الآن باللغة العربية على الموقع https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/edr/trends-developments/2021_…. وتم إعداد الترجمة إلى اللغة العربية بدعم مالي من مشروع EU4MD (الاتحاد الأوروبي من أجل رصد المخدرات) الممول من المفوضية الأوروبية.
يعرض التقرير الأوروبي عن المخدرات لعام 2021 أحدث تحليل صادر عن المركز الأوروبي لرصد المخدرات والإدمان لحالة المخدرات في أوروبا. ويتضمن هذا التقرير، الذي يركز على تعاطي المخدرات غير المشروعة والأضرار الصحية المترتبة على ذلك وعرض المخدرات، مجموعة شاملة من البيانات الوطنية الخاصة بهذه المواضيع والتدخلات الرئيسية للحد من الأضرار.
ويعرض تقرير الاتجاهات والتطورات السنوي نظرة عامة رفيعة المستوى لظاهرة المخدرات في أوروبا، ويتناول تعاطي المخدرات وعرضها ومشاكل الصحة العامة، فضلا عن السياسات والاستجابات المتعلقة بالمخدرات. ويعد المنشور موردا أساسيا لوضع سياسات واستجابات قائمة على الأدلة.
الوصول إلى التقرير:
Access the report >>
EU4MD video available with Arabic subtitles
The EU4MD project video ‘EMCDDA beyond EU borders: spotlight on countries neighbouring the EU (EU4MD)’ is now also available with subtitles in Arabic.
Penalties for drug law offences in Europe ‘at a glance’ — new countries added to online tool
How do countries’ laws deal with offences relating to drug use, possession for personal use or supply? Find out more in the EMCDDA’s 'Penalties at a glance' tool, which allows for comparisons of legal measures in place in up to five countries at a time.
Data from nine countries and partners — Armenia, Algeria, Georgia, Kosovo*, Lebanon, Moldova, Montenegro, Palestine**, and Ukraine — have recently been added to the tool, complementing information from the 27 EU Member States, Norway and Turkey. Data from additional countries will be included in the course of 2022.
The online tool can help users explore how countries’ legislative penalties vary according to the type and quantity of the drug and to the offender’s level of addiction or recidivism.
Ukraine launches national drug report
The Institute of Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatric Examination, and Drug Monitoring of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has published the National report on the drug and alcohol situation in Ukraine in 2021. The report is available in Ukrainian and English.
Upcoming events
- 7–8 April: Annual expert meeting on the problem drug use indicator (PDU) (online)
- 4–5 May: Annual expert meeting on prevalence and patterns of drug use (GPS) (hybrid)
- 11 May: 10^th Extended Reitox meeting (hybrid)
- 31 May: Legal and Policy Correspondent meeting for non-EU partners (online)
- 9 June: Early warning system for ENP countries (online)
- 14–15 June: Annual expert meeting on the treatment demand indicator (TDI) (online)
Research corner — Recently published articles
Azerbaijan
- Hashish seizures in Algeria over the 2019–2020 period: The rise of potent hashish hybrids (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1556-4029.15001)
Egypt
- Does tramadol dependence impair cognitive functions? (https://journals.lww.com/intclinpsychopharm/Citation/2022/03000/Does_tr…)
- Intoxication related to substances use in patients presenting to Ain Shams University Poisoning Treatment Center, Cairo, Egypt (2015-2019) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35178787/)
- Substance abuse among university students in Egypt: prevalence and correlates (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35165876/)
- Suicide risk and ideation among patients with substance use disorders in Egypt (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14659891.2021.1995059?journ…)
- Suicide probability among tramadol addicts (https://journals.lww.com/addictiondisorders/Abstract/2021/12000/Suicide….)
- Perception of the problem of tobacco smoking and drug use among Kafr El-Sheikh University students, Egypt (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14659891.2022.2047805?src=&…)
Georgia
- Implementation and evaluation of a syringe vending machine trial in Tbilisi, Georgia (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35299004/)
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on illicit drug supply, drug-related behaviour of people who use drugs and provision of drug related services in Georgia: results of a mixed methods prospective cohort study (https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-…)
- Barriers of linkage to HCV viremia testing among people who inject drugs in Georgia (https://substanceabusepolicy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13011-…)
Israel
- Changes in cannabis use risk behaviors during the first and second COVID-19 lockdown in Israel: a short-term 2-wave longitudinal study (https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Abstract/9000/Changes…)
Jordan
- Personal attributes and attitudes to substance use disorder: A study among Jordanian undergraduate medical majors students (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.02634…)
Tunisia
- Conduites addictives chez l’adolescent en population clinique : étude tunisienne comparative sur deux périodes avant et après la révolution (in French) (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003448721002900)
Ukraine
- Ukraine's drug policy on psychological disorders and behavior due to the use of psychoactive substances: prospects for development (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35029579/)
- Adolescent drug addiction in Ukraine: social and psychological aspects. Review (https://msu-journal.com/index.php/journal/article/view/338)
- Managing opioid agonist therapy in the post-Soviet limbo (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00914509211063587?journalC…)
- Police abuse and care engagement of people with HIV who inject drugs in Ukraine (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17441692.2022.2049341)
- Extending a lifeline to people with HIV and opioid use disorder during the war in Ukraine (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)0008…)
Multi-country
- Medication for opioid use disorder in the Arab World: A systematic review (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35182841/)
- Understanding the epidemiological HIV risk factors and underlying risk context for youth residing in or originating from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: A scoping review of the literature (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.02609…)
- An observational prospective cohort study of naloxone use at witnessed overdoses, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/352405/PMC8886259.pdf?…)
- More than saving lives: Qualitative findings of the UNODC/WHO Stop Overdose Safely (S-O-S) project (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095539592100387X)
- Association between drug use and ART use among people living with HIV who inject drugs in Vietnam, Ukraine and Indonesia: results from HPTN 074 (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14659891.2021.1989509)
(*) This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
(**) This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.
