Abstract: The European drugs policy aims to protect and improve the well-being of society and of the individual, to protect public health, to offer a high level of security for the general public and to take a balanced, integrated approach to the drugs problem. The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the dismantling of the pillar structure in EU policy making, provides new opportunities for the integration of all policy areas relevant to the drugs problem. The scale of Europe’s drugs problem and its changing nature require swift, strong and effective EU action. The Commission is determined to scale up its response to illicit drugs and to new psychoactive substances that imitate their effects (mainly new synthetic drugs), using the new opportunities provided by the Lisbon Treaty.