Selected issues 2012
Cited from Drugnet Europe, No. 80, October–December 2012

Prisons and drugs in Europe
In a new review published alongside the Annual report, the EMCDDA provides insight into drug use in the prison population and the efforts made at European and national level to improve prisoners’ rights and health. While many countries have scaled up the provision of interventions within prisons (e.g. substitution treatment), these institutions still do not offer a standard of care equivalent or comparable to that provided to the wider community. The report presents progress now being made in several countries towards promoting ‘equivalence of care’ and closing this ‘treatment gap’.

Pregnancy, childcare and the family
Families and the related issue of drug users with parental responsibility are analysed in this new study. The report finds that, although those with drug problems do not necessarily make bad parents, they are likely to require additional support. The report concludes that treatment services, in particular, must be sensitive to the needs of these individuals, as worries about childcare or child protection can act as a barrier to seeking help.

www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/selected-issues

Resources
Reviews by Isabelle Giraudon and Julián Vicente in Drugnet Europe, No. 80, October–December 2012

Preventing opioid overdoses in Europe: a critical assessment of known risk factors and preventative measures
This study focuses on the individual, situational and organisational risk factors linked to overdoses and how they can be modified to reduce fatal outcomes. Key risk and protective factors were categorised for the study and their efficacy plus the factors facilitating or impeding overdose prevention were critically discussed by an expert panel. The review evidenced that many interventions may reduce overdose, particularly in settings where the drug user is in contact with treatment or emergency services. It also shows that specific interventions are proven to be effective (e.g. pharmacological treatment). At the population level, where many drug users are not in contact with services, overdose reduction depends on behavioural change (e.g. avoiding the mixture of opiates and depressant drugs). The study concludes that overdose prevention involves personal and societal issues which call for multifaceted interventions.
Available at www.drugsandalcohol.ie/18701

Analysis of the data sources, numbers and characteristics of cocaine-related DRD cases
Nineteen countries (nine of which submitted data), responded to an EMCDDA survey on cocaine related deaths. The identification and coding of cocaine-related deaths varies across registers and across countries. The study shows that during the 2000s there was an increasing upward trend in the numbers of these deaths, followed by a decline in most countries. By far, most deaths were reported in the UK (2 400 deaths over 1998–2009) and Spain (1 300 deaths over 2005–09). Most victims were males (7–9 in 10), in their late 20s or early 30s, having often used cocaine with opioids and sometimes with more drugs. Around two-thirds of all reported cases died of an overdose. The report also calls for further examination of deaths indirectly related to cocaine use. Available at www.drugsandalcohol.ie/18975

Public expenditure profiles
Cited from Drugnet Europe, No. 80, October–December 2012

How much do countries in Europe spend on drug-related activities as a percentage of their GDP? Do national governments allocate specific budgets to drug policy? How has national drug-related public expenditure evolved over time and what can be expected in the future? These are some of the questions which the EMCDDA’s new ‘Public expenditure profiles’ aim to answer. Recently published on the agency’s website, the profiles cover 30 countries. For more, see www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/public-expenditure