Synthetic cathinones in Europe: 48.5 tonnes seized in 2024, patient numbers increase fivefold
The EUDA reports 181 known compounds and four new cathinones in 2025. In Europe, patients in treatment have increased fivefold between 2018 and 2024.
Synthetic cathinones, EUDA warning: record seizures and increasingly unpredictable risks
Google News IT — Crime (it) reports data contained in the European Drug Report 2026 of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), which describes a growing presence of synthetic cathinones in the continent's illicit markets.
In 2025, four new cathinones never previously identified in the European Union were reported, bringing the total number of compounds identified to 181. In the same year, 69 already known compounds were found on the market. In 2024, imports and seizures reported in the EU reached 48.5 tonnes, 11.5 more than in the previous year.
A family of molecules, not a single substance
Cathinone is present naturally in khat leaves, but the attention of health authorities is now focused on synthetic cathinones: artificially produced molecules distributed in the market for new psychoactive substances. There is no single "synthetic cathinone" in a unique sense. Different molecules can vary in potency, duration of action and effects, making it impossible to treat them as a homogeneous group.
In general, they act as stimulants of the central nervous system and can cause euphoria, excitement, increased alertness and reduced fatigue. Physically, they can lead to increased heart rate and blood pressure, insomnia, tremors, sweating, agitation and elevated body temperature. Psychologically, anxiety, irritability, confusion, paranoia and hallucinations can appear. With certain molecules, particularly at high doses, psychotic episodes have also been described.
Factors that amplify the risk
Risk does not depend only on the substance. Dose, frequency of consumption, route of administration, health conditions and the environment in which consumption takes place all matter. Intense heat and prolonged physical activity can promote body overheating, already facilitated by the stimulant effects.
Polydrug use represents a further critical factor: combining multiple substances can alter effects and make the body's response much less predictable. But there is an even more insidious problem, according to the EUDA: those who consume a product do not always know what it actually contains.
European analysis services show that the actual composition may not match what is declared. In 2025, N-ethylnorpentedrone, known as NEP, was sold in some cases as 3-MMC, causing involuntary consumption and cases of intoxication. The name by which a substance circulates on the illegal market therefore does not guarantee that this is the molecule actually present.
Parenteral route and increasing patients
The route of administration also affects the risk profile. The EUDA reports that among people who entered treatment for problems associated with synthetic cathinones, a significant proportion reports use via the parenteral route. Between 2018 and 2024, the total number of patients treated in the European Union quintupled, reaching approximately 2,700 people.
When stimulation becomes particularly intense, the clinical picture can transform into severe intoxication: marked tachycardia, sharp increase in blood pressure, changes in heart rhythm, hyperthermia, convulsions and altered states of consciousness are among the complications described. Hospital admissions and deaths have also been reported, although such events do not represent an inevitable outcome of consumption and do not affect all molecules equally.
Rapidly evolving market, research lagging behind
The market is changing rapidly. The EUDA reports significant clandestine production within Europe, particularly in Poland. The continuous emergence of new molecules complicates the work of medicine and research: minor modifications to chemical structure can alter potency, duration of effects and toxicity.
When a new substance reaches the market, there are often insufficient clinical studies to understand its interactions, damages and long-term effects. There are numerous clinical reports on immediate effects; what can happen after years of exposure is much less clear. The molecules are too diverse from one another to automatically transfer results obtained on one substance to all others.
Uncertainty, the EUDA warns, does not equate to safety: it means that for many of these substances, science is not yet able to measure all risks over time with precision. In a market where composition, potency and product name can change rapidly, unpredictability remains one of the central elements of the phenomenon.
--- Sources: European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), European Drug Report 2026 — Synthetic stimulants; New psychoactive substances: the current situation in Europe, 2026; Drug supply, production and precursors, 2026.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)