Latest news with #EuropeanUnionDrugsAgency
Irish Examiner
18-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Irish woman Lorraine Nolan appointed head of EU's drug agency
Lorraine Nolan has been appointed to the high-profile role as head of the EU's drug agency. She was appointed executive director of the European Union Drugs Agency after receiving a two-thirds majority in a secret ballot, holding off competition from two other candidates. Since 2016, Ms Nolan has been the chief executive of Ireland's Health Products Regulatory Authority, the agency in charge of regulating medicines, medical devices, and similar products. She is a former chair of the management board of the European Medicines Agency, and has been lead support to Irish ministers for health in drug policy development. She holds a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from Trinity, and has also worked as a forensic scientist for the Department of Justice. Ms Nolan will take the role at the beginning of next year. Based in Lisbon, Portugal, the EU's Drugs Agency aims to support bloc-wide policymaking by providing evidence-based information on drugs, drug addiction, and their consequences. Last week, for example, it warned that Europe is facing an emerging threat from synthetic drugs — including artificial substances that mimic cannabis, heroin, and stimulants. Read More Hiqa CEO apologises at Oireachtas committee for 'failings' over nursing home abuses
Euronews
18-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Cannabis use doubles the risk of dying from heart disease, study finds
People who use cannabis or its synthetic cousin, cannabinoids, are twice as likely to die from heart problems as those who abstain from the drugs, new research has found. Recreational cannabis use remains illegal in most of Europe, but it is the region's most commonly used drug. An estimated 8.4 per cent of adults – 24 million people – used cannabis in the past year, according to the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA). Cannabis is generally stronger and more diverse than in past decades, with users having a choice between smoking marijuana, edibles, cannabis concentrates, and cannabinoids, which are synthetic psychoactive drugs with a high concentration of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis that makes people feel high. That has prompted concern about the potential health consequences of modern cannabis – and the new study, published in the journal Heart, is the latest to show they carry weight. In addition to the doubled mortality risks, cannabis use is tied to a 20 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 29 per cent higher risk of heart attacks or other types of acute coronary syndrome, which is when blood flow to the heart is severely restricted, the study found. The findings raise 'serious questions about the assumption that cannabis imposes little cardiovascular risk,' Stanton Glantz and Dr Lynn Silver, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who were not involved with the study, said in a written comment. For the analysis, a French research team assessed real-world data from 24 studies conducted between 2016 and 2023. Most participants were between the ages of 19 and 59, and cannabis users were more likely to be younger and male compared with people who did not use the drug. Notably, most of the studies were observational, meaning researchers can't say that cannabis use causes heart problems directly. There was also a high risk of bias in most of the studies. More research is needed to understand exactly how cannabis is linked to heart problems, and whether the risks differ based on the type of cannabis someone uses. Despite the limitations, the study authors said their analysis is among the most comprehensive yet to probe the possible link between cannabis and heart problems in the real world. Glantz and Silver pushed for health warnings on cannabis products and protections against secondhand smoke exposure, particularly as countries relax their cannabis laws and the drug becomes more easily available. 'Cannabis needs to be incorporated into the framework for prevention of clinical cardiovascular disease,' they said. British lawmakers have voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, following concerns about the number of women who are investigated for terminated pregnancies. The House of Commons approved an amendment — it passed 379-317 — to a broader crime bill that would prevent women from being criminally punished under an antiquated law dating back to the mid-19th century. Abortion has been legal in England and Wales for almost six decades but only up to 24 weeks and with the approval of two doctors. The amendment means that women who terminate their pregnancy after 24 weeks will no longer be investigated by the police. Medical professionals or anybody assisting a woman with an abortion outside outside the 24-week limit could still face prosecution. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced one of the amendments, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths. 'This piece of legislation will only take women out of the criminal justice system because they are vulnerable and they need our help,' she said. 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice, it is cruelty and it has got to end.' The House of Commons will now need to pass the crime bill, which is expected, before it goes to the House of Lords, where it can be delayed but not blocked. Under current law, doctors can legally carry out abortions in England, Scotland and Wales up to 24 weeks, and beyond that under special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger. Abortion in Northern Ireland was decriminalised in 2019. Changes in the law implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allow women to receive abortion pills through the mail and terminate their own pregnancies at home within 10 weeks of conception. That has led to a handful of widely publicised cases in which women were prosecuted for illegally obtaining abortion pills and using them to end their own pregnancies after 24 weeks or more. Anti-abortion groups opposed the measures, arguing it would open the door to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy. 'Unborn babies will have any remaining protection stripped away, and women will be left at the mercy of abusers,' said Alithea Williams, public policy manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which describes itself as the UK's biggest pro-life campaign group. The debate came after recent prosecutions have galvanised support to repeal parts of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. In one case, a mother of three was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2023 for medically inducing an abortion about eight months into her pregnancy. Carla Foster, 45, was released about a month later by an appeals court that reduced her sentence. Judge Victoria Sharp said that case called for 'compassion, not punishment' and there was no useful purpose in jailing her. Last month, a jury acquitted Nicola Packer on a charge of unlawfully self-administering poison or a noxious thing with intent to procure a miscarriage. Packer, who took abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant, testified that she did not know she had been pregnant more than 10 weeks. Supporters of the bill said it was a landmark reform that would keep women from going to prison for ending their pregnancy. 'At a time when we're seeing rollbacks on reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, this crucial milestone in the fight for reproductive rights sends a powerful message that our lawmakers are standing up for women,' said Louise McCudden of MSI Reproductive Choices.
TimesLIVE
05-06-2025
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Surge in new opioids, designer drugs threatens Europe: EU drug agency
Massive shipments of previously unknown recreational designer drugs and potent new opioids are threatening Europe, while traffic of cocaine and cannabis is worsening, according to the European Union Drugs Agency's annual report published on Thursday. Seizures of synthetic cathinones — stimulants chemically akin to the active ingredient in khat, a plant widely consumed in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula — reached 37 metric tons in 2023, primarily imported from India. Seven new cathinones were identified last year, suggesting their growing prevalence. The report also warns of new synthetic opioids, particularly nitazenes, which it says pose 'severe poisoning' risks. Nitazenes can be orders of magnitude stronger than heroin — or even fentanyl — and have been linked by US and British authorities to increases in overdose deaths. The report — which compiled data from the 27 EU member states plus Norway and Turkey — stresses the need for improved monitoring and alert systems, as well as better preparedness and cross-sector collaboration to combat drug-related crime and public health risks. Meanwhile, cannabis remained Europe's most consumed illicit drug, with increasingly potent products complicating health risk assessments. The average tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in cannabis resin has doubled over the past decade, the report says. In 2024 authorities detected 18 new varieties of semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), which in many countries can be sold legally because those molecules are often not explicitly banned. Cocaine use is also rising, as shown by record seizures of 419 tons in 2023. Major ports in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands are key entry points.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Time of India
Outgoing head of Europe's drug agency warns of surge of violence from stimulant trade
AP file photo Europe's top official monitoring illegal drugs has a parting message near the end of his tenure: the relentless rise in the trafficking of cocaine and other stimulants is producing more violence than ever before in the heart of the world's safest societies. Alexis Goosdeel, the Belgian clinician who has run the European Union Drugs Agency since Jan. 2016, has watched it unfold across the continent and spill into his home country. The bulk of drug seizures shifted from Europe's southern flank to its northern ports and, with Antwerp now a leading entry point for cocaine and crack, spreading gang violence has produced shootouts even near the seat of Europe's government. It's emblematic of the risk the continent at large faces, he told The Associated Press via video conference from Lisbon, Portugal, where his agency is based. "For people living in Brussels, that's the first time in the history of the country ... that you have episodes with weapons, with guns, in the center of Brussels," Goosdeel said. "And this happens 2,000 meters (1.2 miles) from the building of the European Parliament, in a city that was felt and perceived by people to be quite safe." He noted the globalization of drug gangs for example groups from the western Balkans arrested in Andean nations in South America. And he pointed to the new phenomena of gangs using social media to recruit at-risk youths, some of whom are recent arrivals to Europe as undocumented migrants. "We don't understand yet what are the root causes of this change of behavior among young teenagers or adolescents who embarked on ultra-violent behavior without having really a past of delinquency," he said. "And some of them do not hesitate to take pictures or to make a movie of what they are doing and to share it on some social media." Public health The European Union Drugs Agency's annual report released on Thursday found that in 2023 cocaine seizures in Europe hit a record for a seventh straight year, with 419 tonnes (462 tons) of cocaine confiscated by officials. Belgium led the way with 123 tonnes, followed by Spain (118 tonnes) and the Netherlands (59 tonnes), as the three countries with major ports accounted for 72% of the total amount grabbed by agents. The report, which covers the EU as well as Norway and Turkey, highlighted Spain's largest-ever seizure, of 13 tonnes of cocaine hidden in bananas from Ecuador, as an example of cartels' use of standard shipping lanes. Besides warning policymakers across the EU's 27 capitals to prepare for more violence, Goosdeel sounded the alarm about a looming public health threat. Whereas addiction and overdose from opioids can be treatable, that's not the case for stimulants. Their growing use "suggests that in four or five years time we will face most probably an increase in the needs for treatment and we don't have any pharmacological standard treatment available," he said. "You don't have anything magic in terms of medicine that would help to stabilize them, to cut the craving and to help them really disconnect from this extremely huge addiction. So it's time to invest." Europe remains the leading producer and exporter of ecstasy. The agency's early warning system to spot new synthetic drugs has identified 1,000 new substances in its 27 years of existence. Goosdeel said he wouldn't be surprised if, of the total, more than half were detected in the past decade. The period has ushered in "an entirely different world," he said. "Drugs are everywhere, including those we produce in Europe. Everything can be used as a drug," he said. Don't ignore the problem Goosdeel insists that, while policymakers should tackle the issue of drug-related violence, they must continue caring for users rather than jailing or shunning them, as some critics say the United States' "war on drugs" has done. Europe's approach has formed the basis of a public health response aimed at helping users overcome their addictions. "We have learned in Europe, and from what happens outside Europe, that to declare war on the people who are using drugs is not the solution," he said.
The Hill
05-06-2025
- The Hill
Outgoing head of Europe's drug agency warns of surge of violence from stimulant trade
Europe's top official monitoring illegal drugs has a parting message near the end of his tenure: the relentless rise in the trafficking of cocaine and other stimulants is producing more violence than ever before in the heart of the world's safest societies. Alexis Goosdeel, the Belgian clinician who has run the European Union Drugs Agency since Jan. 2016, has watched it unfold across the continent and spill into his home country. The bulk of drug seizures shifted from Europe's southern flank to its northern ports and, with Antwerp now a leading entry point for cocaine and crack, spreading gang violence has produced shootouts even near the seat of Europe's government. It's emblematic of the risk the continent at large faces, he told The Associated Press via video conference from Lisbon, Portugal, where his agency is based. 'For people living in Brussels, that's the first time in the history of the country … that you have episodes with weapons, with guns, in the center of Brussels,' Goosdeel said. 'And this happens 2,000 meters (1.2 miles) from the building of the European Parliament, in a city that was felt and perceived by people to be quite safe.' He noted the globalization of drug gangs — for example groups from the western Balkans arrested in Andean nations in South America. And he pointed to the new phenomena of gangs using social media to recruit at-risk youths, some of whom are recent arrivals to Europe as undocumented migrants. 'We don't understand yet what are the root causes of this change of behavior among young teenagers or adolescents who embarked on ultra-violent behavior without having really a past of delinquency,' he said. 'And some of them do not hesitate to take pictures or to make a movie of what they are doing and to share it on some social media.' The European Union Drugs Agency's annual report released on Thursday found that in 2023 cocaine seizures in Europe hit a record for a seventh straight year, with 419 tonnes (462 tons) of cocaine confiscated by officials. Belgium led the way with 123 tonnes, followed by Spain (118 tonnes) and the Netherlands (59 tonnes), as the three countries with major ports accounted for 72% of the total amount grabbed by agents. The report, which covers the EU as well as Norway and Turkey, highlighted Spain's largest-ever seizure, of 13 tonnes of cocaine hidden in bananas from Ecuador, as an example of cartels' use of standard shipping lanes. Besides warning policymakers across the EU's 27 capitals to prepare for more violence, Goosdeel sounded the alarm about a looming public health threat. Whereas addiction and overdose from opioids can be treatable, that's not the case for stimulants. Their growing use 'suggests that in four or five years time we will face most probably an increase in the needs for treatment and we don't have any pharmacological standard treatment available,' he said. 'You don't have anything magic in terms of medicine that would help to stabilize them, to cut the craving and to help them really disconnect from this extremely huge addiction. So it's time to invest.' Europe remains the leading producer and exporter of ecstasy. The agency's early warning system to spot new synthetic drugs has identified 1,000 new substances in its 27 years of existence. Goosdeel said he wouldn't be surprised if, of the total, more than half were detected in the past decade. The period has ushered in 'an entirely different world,' he said. 'Drugs are everywhere, including those we produce in Europe. Everything can be used as a drug,' he said. Goosdeel insists that, while policymakers should tackle the issue of drug-related violence, they must continue caring for users rather than jailing or shunning them, as some critics say the United States' 'war on drugs' has done. Europe's approach has formed the basis of a public health response aimed at helping users overcome their addictions. 'We have learned in Europe, and from what happens outside Europe, that to declare war on the people who are using drugs is not the solution,' he said.
