Wastewater examined

Drug use: cannabis number 1, cocaine on the rise

More cocaine use in Austria (symbolic image)

(Bild: P. Huber)

Cocaine consumption in Austria is increasing, cannabis remains dominant - this is the result of the European Drug Monitoring Report. In Austria, the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Innsbruck (GMI) analyzed the wastewater in 16 wastewater treatment plants in around 160 municipalities. 

Austria is in the middle of the European field in terms of drug consumption. According to the annual wastewater analysis, none of the 16 regions examined in the country were among the ten regions in Europe with the highest turnover in the previous year. 

Peak values at the weekend 
Higher values at the weekend suggest the consumption of substances as "party drugs", the Medical University of Innsbruck announced on Wednesday. On average, a resident of the regions studied drinks just over a glass of wine a day, smokes three to four cigarettes and consumes 0.07 joints and around 1.5 milligrams of stimulant drugs, said study leader Herbert Oberacher, head of the GMI's forensic toxicology laboratory, summarizing the results.

Alcohol and nicotine were consumed with roughly the same frequency in all regions. The picture was less homogeneous for prohibited substances: cannabis (THC) was dominant in all regions, but was used more in urban areas compared to more rural areas. On average, 11 grams of THC were smoked daily per 1000 inhabitants.

Cocaine: Highest per capita consumption in Kufstein 
Cocaine was the highest-selling drug among the stimulants with 1.3 grams of daily consumption per 1000 inhabitants. "One development that we have been observing for years in Austria's wastewater is the increase in the amount of cocaine residues," explained Oberacher. However, consumption of the drug was higher in the west of the country than in eastern Austria. Kufstein, the second largest city in Tyrol, once again recorded the highest per capita consumption.

A development that we have been observing in Austria's waste water for years is the increase in the amount of cocaine residues.

Studienleiter Herbert Oberacher

Speed and ecstasy most common in Graz
The largest per capita quantities of the active ingredient amphetamine (speed) were detected in Graz, while Wiener Neustadt and Steyr led the way in the consumption of methamphetamine (crystal meth). MDMA (ecstasy) was more popular in urban areas than in rural areas, with the peak value also observed here in Graz. The west-east distribution of stimulants and synthetic drugs was not limited to Austria, but was reflected throughout Europe.

Ecstasy tablets (symbolic image)

(Bild: Polizei OÖ)

The SCORE drug report is published annually by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Since 2016, the forensic toxicology laboratory at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck has been providing the analysis for Austria.

112 cities and regions were included across Europe in 2023
112 cities and regions were included across Europe in 2023. For the annual study, samples were taken from the inflow of the sewage treatment plants every day for a week in spring and early summer and analyzed using analytical-chemical methods, it said.