More and more people in Europe are getting their fix from prescription drugs, including some used to treat heroin addiction, while heroin use in Europe is declining,a report says.
It also warns of a flood of new synthetic drugs, and of established ones like ecstasy and cannabis becoming more potent.
"The drug phenomenon is dynamic and continues to evolve, leaving us no room for complacency as new threats emerge," Wolfgang Goetz, director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), wrote in an introduction to the latest European Drug Report, released on Tuesday.
It highlighted abuse of synthetic opioids - the class of drugs to which heroin belongs - including methadone and buprenorphine, which are used in substitution treatment.
Like heroin, they are addictive but safer, partly because they are taken orally rather than injected.
"In 2012, 17 countries reported that over 10 per cent of first-time opioid clients entering specialist treatment were misusing opioids other than heroin," said the report.
The report warned of an emerging "plethora" of new substances, with 81 previously unknown psychoactive substances in 2013 to bring the total to 350.
Unregulated, they are marketed as "legal highs" or disguised as herbal incense, bath salts, jewellery cleaner or even plant food.
The report warned that the strength of ecstasy and cannabis appeared to be increasing, as their active ingredients were boosted in the lab.
"I am deeply concerned that the drugs consumed in Europe today may be even more damaging to users' health than in the past," said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstroem.
More than 80 million Europeans, about a quarter of the adult population, are estimated to have used illicit drugs at some point in their lives.
The agency quoted a recent analysis of raw sewage in 42 cities in 21 European countries, which calculated that 832kg of cocaine were consumed daily in Europe's cities, led by Amsterdam, Antwerp, London and Zurich.
Meanwhile, one in four 15- to 16-year-olds is estimated to have used an illicit drug, mainly marijuana, said the EMCDDA report.
Cannabis accounted for about 80 per cent of the one million drug seizures each year, followed by cocaine and crack.
While opioid use is on the decline - from 59,000 new clients in 2007 to 31,000 in 2012 - there are still about 1.3 million "problem" users in Europe, said the report.
And the report raised concerns about the internet as a growing marketplace.
"The fact that manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, website-hosting and payment-processing services may all be based in different countries makes it particularly difficult to control," said the document.
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