After the consumption of party drugs in particular fell due to the Corona crisis, the ‘old situation’ was apparently restored when the pandemic was over. With the relaxation of the measures, the use of alcohol and narcotics among the population increased again. This is shown by the wastewater analysis of the Institute for Forensic Medicine of Med Uni Innsbruck (GMI) for the year 2022. Cannabis and cocaine continue to dominate. There are differences between western and eastern Austria.
For eight regions surveyed, information on changes in consumer behavior could be determined when compared to results from 2019 to 2021, it said. “Compared to 2021, increases in the consumption of alcohol, cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine have been observed, which are partly due to the expiration of official measures to contain the Covid 19 pandemic,” emphasizes study leader Herbert Oberacher of forensic medicine. from Innsbruck.
More cannabis in urban areas
A detailed analysis showed that the consumption of alcohol and nicotine per capita is relatively uniform in Austria. For illicit drugs, on the other hand, the picture is less homogeneous: according to the experts, cannabis was the dominant drug in almost all regions, with THC use being higher in urban areas than in rural areas.
differences between west and east
However, among stimulants, cocaine ranks first and represents the drug with the highest turnover. In Western Austria and South Tyrol, included in the study, cocaine is consumed in higher quantities per capita than in Eastern Austria. Incidentally, the highest cocaine consumption per capita was in Kufstein, the second largest city in Tyrol.
The highest per capita consumption of the active substances amphetamine (speed) and methamphetamine (crystal meth) was found in the federal capital Vienna and Wiener Neustadt. This “West-East distribution” of stimulants and synthetic drugs is not an Austrian peculiarity, but is mirrored in Europe, it was stressed.
Austria in the middle of Europe
Overall, Austria remains ranked in the “European Midfield”. “On average, a resident of one of the 17 regions surveyed drinks a glass of wine, smokes four cigarettes and consumes 0.07 joints and about a milligram of stimulants per day,” Oberacher explains. Another result of the analysis was that none of the audited regions in Austria and South Tyrol are among the ten best selling regions in Europe.
Innsbruck was for a long time the only city in Austria to carry out drug monitoring in the sewer, followed by Graz, Purgstall and Kapfenberg, among others, until 2022, when the federal capital of Vienna finally took part in the SCORE study for the first time. For the first time, data from Salzburg and Upper Austria were also included in the analysis.
Vienna in lower midfield
“The samples, which were taken daily for a week, show that Vienna ranks in the lower midfield for all five of the investigated substances compared to other major European cities. The wastewater research in many comparable cities shows significantly higher values for THC, cocaine, MDMA, amphetamine and methamphetamine,” emphasized the coordinator for psychiatry, addiction and drug problems in the city of Vienna, Ewald Lochner, in a press release.
With cocaine, Vienna was far behind cities such as Brussels, Zurich, Barcelona and also below the values for Prague or Berlin, according to the psychosocial services in Vienna. In terms of THC, Vienna had a higher concentration than Krakow or Milan, but in some cases significantly lower than Zagreb, Lisbon or Amsterdam. Levels measured for amphetamine were significantly higher in Brussels, Berlin, Prague and Zurich, while levels in Barcelona were lower than those in Vienna.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
