In Bulgaria, almost all drug addicts who had sought treatment abuse heroin and in the last four years the number of detoxication clinics in the country has increased five-fold. These facts were cited during an experts meeting on November 6 2008, when the EU annual report discussing the drugs problem in Europe was presented.

There are no exact statistics of how many Bulgarians regularly use drugs, however, data indicates that since 2003, drug-related deaths have increased. In 2007, 52 people have died from overdosing, in 2006 there were 29 deaths, while in 2005 there were 40. Data from the National Centre for Addictions (NCA) also shows that every day 50 people try drugs for a first time.

According to the NCA, some 71 per cent of all heroin addicts also smoke cannabis, 45 per cent of them use amphetamines and ecstasy, and about 25 per cent add cocaine to the mix.

In Europe, the average age of people dying from overdose is 35, but in Bulgaria the highest death rate is in the below 25 years bracket. This fact ranks the country fifth in Europe after Romania, Estonia, Slovakia and Austria.

The report also said that close to 71 million Europeans aged between 15 and 64 smoke cannabis, 12 million use cocaine, 11 million use amphetamines and about 9.5 million feed on ecstasy. Rapid increase of the cocaine use is a troubling fact, the report said, but Bulgaria was not among the countries where this tendency was observed.

Drug supplies are shipped to Europe through Afghanistan. They reach the continent by two main routes. One, which passes through Bulgaria, includes Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Another arm of this route runs south down through Greece, Italy and Mediterranean Sea. The Netherlands and Belgium are considered to be the distributing hubs in Europe. The second major traffic path goes through Pakistan, Iran, Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia or Poland.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction warned that in 2007, the world production of narcotic drugs has increased by 34 per cent, reaching 8870 tons.