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• Problematic drug use population (PDU)
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• Drug-related deaths (DRD)
• Demand for treatment (TDI)
• Drug law offences (DLO)
• Health and social responses (HSR)
• Seizures data (SZR)
• Price and purity information (PPP)
• Explanatory notes and help

Overview of the data

Drug availability and drug markets: prices and purity information

The index below lists the tables in the bulletin and the associated graphic in the section dealing with drug price, potency and purity, along with a brief, summary overview. Tables include data from the EU Member States, Croatia, Turkey and Norway and the graphic include data from the EU Member States and Norway.

The following tables are included in the bulletin, giving information for countries which provided 2006 data.

The tables in this section provide an overview of drug prices at retail level and drug purity/potency for major drug types of interest in 2006 (cannabis, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and LSD).

Tables PPP-1 to PPP-4 show reported drug prices at retail level by country, where data are available, for the major drug types of interest in 2006. Part (i) of each table gives minimum, maximum, mean and modal (typical) prices in euros for 2006 and Part (ii) of the table gives the names of the sources of information of the data provided in Part (i).

Tables PPP-5 to PPP-8 show reported drug purity/potency (where available: see Part (iii)) by country, where data are available, for the major drug types of interest in 2006. Part (i) of each table gives minimum, maximum, mean and modal (typical) purity/potency in percent for 2006; Part (ii) of the table gives the sources of information of the data provided in Part (i); and Part (iii) of the table gives information on the type of sampling and the type of study, both of which affect data provided in Part (i).

Figure PPP-1 shows reported information on national street-level prices for each drug in the EU Member States and Norway, weighted by country population sizes to form an overall EU trend. Prices have been adjusted for national inflation rates (base year 2001) and all series indexed to a base of 100 in 2001.

Summary points

Cannabis

Typical retail prices of both herbal cannabis and cannabis resin varied from EUR 2 to EUR 14 per gram, with a majority of European countries reporting prices in the range EUR 4–10 for both products (see Table PPP-1). During the period 2001–06, retail prices of cannabis resin (corrected for inflation) have been falling in most countries providing sufficient data, while retail prices of herbal cannabis remained more stable over the period in Europe.

In 2006, reported THC content of resin samples ranged from 2.3% to 18.4%, while that of herbal cannabis ranged from under 1% to 13% (see Table PPP-5). Over the period 2001–06, the potency of both cannabis products remained stable or decreased in many of the 16 European countries providing sufficient data; however, upward trends were noted for imported cannabis resin in the Netherlands and for herbal cannabis in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands has for several years now been able to produce an estimate of the mean potency of locally-produced herbal cannabis, which has declined to 17.5% in 2006 from a peak in 2004.

Heroin

Most countries reported typical street prices of brown heroin in 2006 in the range EUR30–45 per gram(see Table PPP-2). Between 2001 and 2006, mean heroin prices, corrected for inflation, appear to have decreased in most of the 13 countries with sufficient information.

The typical purity of brown heroin was reported in 2006 to vary considerably, with most countries reporting values between 15% and 25%; figures for white heroin tended to be higher (45–70 %) where it was available, except in Estonia (see Table PPP-6).

Cocaine

In 2006, the typical retail price of cocaine varied between EUR50 to EUR75 per gram in most European countries (see Table PPP-3). The mean prices of cocaine, corrected for inflation, showed an overall downward trend over the period 2001–06 in 16 of the 18 countries reporting sufficient information.

The typical purity of cocaine varied in 2006 from 1 % to 90 %, with most countries reporting purities of 25–55% (see Table PPP-7). Data available over 2001–06 indicate an overall decrease in the mean purity of cocaine in most of the 23 countries reporting sufficient information.

Amphetamine

In 2006, the typical retail price of amphetamine varied between EUR10 and EUR15 a gram in half of the reporting countries, although average values of EUR3–70 were reported across Europe. Over the period 2001–06, the retail price of amphetamine has fallen in 13 of the 16 countries reporting sufficient data (see Table PPP-4).

The countries reporting amphetamine purity for 2006 can be divided into two groups: 10 countries reported low purities, 2–10%, while the countries reporting higher purity levels (25–47%) are those for which there is more evidence of production, trafficking or consumption of amphetamine (the Netherlands, Poland, Baltic and Nordic countries) (see Table PPP-8). Over the past five years, the purity of amphetamine has been stable or falling in most of the 19 countries providing sufficient data.

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine typical purity lies between 20–55 % in most European countries (see Table PPP-8) in 2006. In the few countries reporting the retail price of the drug, it varied from EUR12 (Lithuania) to EUR100 (Slovenia) per gram in 2006 (see Table PPP-4).

Ecstasy

In 2006, average values of 9–90mg MDMA per tablet were reported across Europe, though in most reporting countries the typical MDMA content of an ecstasy tablet was between 25 and 65mg (see Table PPP-8). No clear European trend is apparent in the data on the MDMA content of ecstasy tablets during the five-year period 2001–06.

Most European countries report typical retail prices in the range of EUR 3–9 per tablet in 2006 (see Table PPP-4). Data for the period 2001–06 show that in most European countries providing sufficient data the retail price (adjusted for inflation) of ecstasy has continued to fall.

LSD

LSD retail prices (adjusted for inflation) have been slightly declining since 2001(see Figure PPP-1), and ranged in 2006 between EUR 5–11 per unit in most European countries (see Table PPP-4).