Abstract: Prices are an essential element of the illicit drug market, from both a supply and demand perspective. They are an indicator of drug availability and are an important tool for understanding the workings of drug supply mechanisms. They may also be used to help target law enforcement resources and assist criminal justice agencies with decisions related to prosecution and sentencing (e.g. assets recovery). The EMCDDA has been collecting information on retail drug prices via its Reitox focal points for the last 15 years. Although considerable progress has been made in this area, there is still variation in data collection in Europe. To address this issue, the EMCDDA has released these Guidelines for collecting data on retail drug prices in Europe: issues and challenges in its Manuals series. The Manual raises awareness on specific issues related to collecting data on retail drug prices and offers practical suggestions. It addresses difficulties in obtaining a definition of ’retail’ prices, and discusses the challenge of obtaining a representative sample of illicit, and therefore hidden, transactions. Suggestions are made for a minimum set of variables to be recorded for each observation. Targeted at all those involved in data collection on drug prices in Europe, the Manual reviews the main data-collection methods, current national practices and data-management issues.

Abstract: Infectious diseases are among the most serious health consequences of injecting drug use and can lead to significant healthcare costs. Injecting drug users are vulnerable to a range of infectious and communicable diseases through a variety of risk behaviours, and because of underlying conditions such as poor hygiene, homelessness and poverty. There is a recognised need for guidance on providing IDUs with a medical examination and testing for HIV, viral hepatitis and several other infections on a regular basis. In addition, improving testing uptake in this group would benefit epidemiological surveillance and monitoring as carried out at the national and international level. These guidelines are accompanied by a recommended package of prevention and primary care in relation to injecting drug users and infections. Treatment and other specialist care are not discussed in detail but are dealt with by indicating referral to appropriate services.

Abstract: Prevention is a key consideration when discussing substance use and related problems. Drug prevention is any activity that delays or reduces the use of substances. Preventing substance use potentially makes other interventions, especially targeting treatment and harm reduction, unnecessary. Evaluation of the various interventions is essential to develop and improve existing approaches and to work towards creating a best practice in drug prevention. The EMCDDA first published the Guidelines for the evaluation of drug prevention in 1998 to respond to a need expressed by professionals and policymakers to have a tool and stimulus to evaluate prevention interventions in Europe. These guidelines aimed to facilitate and encourage project leaders to evaluate their own interventions and to design them accordingly. This second edition is an updated version of the original EMCDDA guidelines, which contains new methods, concepts and examples of currently available drug prevention interventions and which provides a framework for carrying out an evaluation. The content has also been updated with developments in online EMCDDA drug prevention and evaluation resources. Since publication of the first edition, prevention professionals who continue to apply these guidelines have contributed to the increased attention given to evaluation and prevention. However, although guidance on drug prevention is available in some Member States, only a minority of interventions in the European Union have an outcome evaluation. Even large, wellfunded projects are still not fully evaluated and the availability of empirical evidence concerning prevention is weak. These guidelines are intended for professionals working in the drug prevention and evaluation field and can provide valuable guidance when planning and evaluating prevention activities. The intention to develop best practice in drug prevention, as expressed in the 2005–8 and 2009–12 EU drugs action plans, and the fact that evaluation is now widely used in Member States’ drug policy, testify to the importance placed on drug prevention and evaluation in the European Union. The aim of this publication is to raise the profile of both drug prevention and evaluation methodologies and to provide prevention practitioners with an up-to-date framework, to enable their interventions and evaluations to reach their full potential.

Abstract: Every year, several thousands of cocaine-related emergencies are reported in Europe, along with hundreds of cocaine-related deaths. The types of cocaine-related problems reported are wide ranging and the relatively high prevalence of cocaine use in the general population means that there is likely to be a significant impact on overall public health.