Slovenia: Illegal drug market changing, European agency warns
The latest EUDA agency report for 2026 finds that the illegal market in Slovenia and wider Europe is flooded with increasingly potent synthetic substances, counterfeit medicines and new psychoactive chemicals.
Slovenia: Illegal drug market changing, European agency warns
The latest annual report on controlled substances issued by European agency EUDA reveals significant changes in the structure of the illegal drug market. Among users in Slovenia and elsewhere across Europe, cannabis still predominates, followed by cocaine.
However, experts are most concerned about the exponential growth in the supply of laboratory-manufactured narcotics. These chemicals, which are continuously modified by manufacturers, are increasingly finding their way into the hands of end users. In addition, counterfeit pharmaceutical products are multiplying, along with previously unknown psychoactive compounds whose health effects are often unpredictable.
The consequences of this trend are growing more severe. People rarely know exactly what the preparations they consume contain. Particularly dangerous are combinations of multiple active components in a single tablet or mixture, which users often take simultaneously with other substances. The result is an increasing frequency of acute poisonings and deaths.
Among new phenomena are synthetic cannabinoids mixed into liquids for electronic cigarettes, as well as powders and tablets that dealers falsely represent as opioids or stimulants. Products from natural cannabis are also increasingly adulterated with synthetic additives.
The report also warns of changing tactics employed by organised groups. Young people are increasingly being recruited for involvement in sales and violence through online platforms and social media. Such a development requires examination and adaptation of existing strategies for combating this type of crime.
Source: Delo
Source: Delo