Heroin reaching Malta is among the purest in Europe and the rate of addicts seeking their next high on smack has remained consistently one of the highest in the EU, according to the latest research.
The average purity of brown heroin tested in 2009 ranged between 16 and 32 per cent but in Malta it hit 36 per cent, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction’s annual report for 2011, launched in Lisbon yesterday.
The report is based on information provided by EU member states, candidate countries Croatia and Turkey and by Norway.
Romania has the same purity percentage as Malta and the two countries were topped by Turkey, where the purity was 37 per cent. The lowest purity levels were registered in France at14 per cent, and Austria at 13 per cent.
In its pure form, heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste. Street heroin samples are frequently cut with other substances so dealers can maximise their profits. Because of these impurities and additives, street heroin may appear in various hues ranging from white to dark brown, according to medical websites on the drug.
The presence of impurities and additives limits heroin absorption through mucous membranes, restricting its “rush” and “high” when it is sniffed or snorted. In patients who are dependent on the drug, intravenous injection becomes the only effective method of heroin use.
Fresh threats due to synthetic drugs
EMCDDA director Wolfgang Götz described this year’s report as “one of contrasts” because, although the drug situation remained rather stable, new threats were emerging due to the increasing types of synthetic drugs.
Following last year’s record year, when 41 new drugs were detected, so far this year the number had already reached 39, he told a press conference.
Synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, are usually manufactured illegally in Europe from imported precursor chemicals. Producers are now using sophisticated techniques to bypass importation regulations by masking illegal precursor chemicals as non-controlled ones.
The report shows Malta remains one of the few countries where ecstasy only contains the prohibited chemicals and not the new versions of them.
It also emerges that the drug situation in Malta remained consistent with previous years. The island continues to rank low on the Europe drug-use table for the abuse of cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and amphetamines. However, it is one of the countries where the use of opioids, mainly heroin, are among the most prevalent.
The highest estimates of opioid abuse were reported in Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Malta. Malta reported 5.4 cases per 1,000 population, when the average for the EU and Norway ranged between 3.6 and 4.4. cases. This is particularly worrying since heroin is the most lethal of the drugs. Over 7,600 fatal overdoses were reported in the EU and Norway in 2009, most due to opioids.
In Malta, that year, 83.4 per cent of people seeking drug treatment reported that heroin was their primary drug, followed by cocaine (10 per cent) and cannabis (5.5 per cent).
Malta is also flagged for the prevalence of the Hepatitis C virus in injecting drug users. The viral disease leads to inflammation of the liver that can become chronic.
The presence of the virus in inmates was reported by eight countries where it ranged between 11.5 per cent in Hungary and 90.7 per cent in Luxembourg.
In the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Malta this virus appeared to be more prevalent among injectors tested in prison compared to those in other settings.
Data showed 30.8 per cent out of 121 injecting drug users (not necessary inmates) tested in prison and hospital’s rehabilitation centre tested positive for Hepatitis C.
Drug facts
Cannabis is the most common illicit drug in Malta. In 2009, about 100 seizures involved cannabis and 102 cocaine, followed by amphetamine.
The police’s drug squad made 623 arrests for drug-related offences: 74.2 per cent were for possession and 25.8 per cent for trafficking. Most of the arrests related to cocaine and heroin.
1,792 people started treatment for drug addiction, including 250 first time treatment clients.
Six people died of a drug overdose in 2009. The number of deaths per year ranges between one and nine. The majority are caused by opioid abuse.
In 2009, there were 1,099 clients on opioid substitution treatment, 977 of them receiving met-hadone and 42 buprenorphine.