Among all adults, cannabis use is highest in the Czech Republic, Italy, France and Spain and lowest in Malta, Turkey and Hungary, EU data show. Meanwhile, cocaine use is highest in the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland.
Cannabis and cocaine are the most commonly used drugs in the EU, but several others pose a threat to public health. Almost one in three Europeans have tried illegal drugs in their lifetime, but not every country is the same when it comes to drug use or their impact on health. Regular drug use is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, accidents and infectious diseases such as HIV when it comes to injecting drugs.
Across the European Union, 15% of adults used cannabis in 2025, while 2.5% used cocaine, according to a recent report from the European Commission and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Among all adults, cannabis use is highest in the Czech Republic, Italy, France and Spain and lowest in Malta, Turkey and Hungary, EU data show. Cocaine use, meanwhile, is highest in the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland, and lowest in Turkey, Portugal, Poland and Hungary. A map shows drug use trends by country. “In particular, how tough a country is on drugs does not seem to make much difference in their availability, at least for young people,” says Sabrina Molinaro, an epidemiologist and research director at Italy’s National Research Council, who coordinates the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
Her survey has tracked drug use among 16-year-olds in Europe since the 1990s. She said generational trends in drug habits are remarkably stable over time, meaning patterns among today’s young people will show up in adult-level data in a few years.
For example, while teenage boys have historically been more likely than girls to use cannabis, this gap has narrowed in recent years, with girls’ use even exceeding boys’ in some countries. Cannabis and cocaine are the two most commonly used illicit drugs in the EU, but other drugs, such as MDMA (also called molly or ecstasy), heroin and other opioids, psychedelics and synthetic drugs are on the rise. According to the EU’s monitoring agency, Europe is awash with drugs like never before. Synthetic drugs, such as cannabinoids and lab-made stimulants, are particularly worrisome because it is difficult for authorities to identify the problematic ingredients, then stop their trafficking and use.
“They are so dangerous because you don’t know what you are taking and because the drugs are often made in low-quality labs with the potential for contamination,” Molinaro said.