In the period May-July 2024, the European Web Survey on Drugs (EWSD 2024) was conducted. A total of 35 countries participated in it – 24 EU members and 11 non-EU countries. The survey questionnaire was presented in 30 languages, according to the official languages of the participating countries. The target group of the study was people aged 18 or over who have used drugs, and its main aim was to improve the understanding of drug use patterns in Europe. Significant interest in the study was registered – 67,071 individuals expressed a desire to participate. The data presented here refer 61732 respondents who lived in one of the 24 EU countries and Norway.
1215 respondents participated in the Bulgarian study, and data for 1188 respondents who lived in our country was validated. About 28% of them are female. A part (4.6%) of men self-identify as being of the opposite sex.
54.0% of respondents are under 29 years of age, and 64.5% are under 34 years of age. Only 10.5% of those who participated in the study were 45 years of age or older. The mean age of those who participated in the study is 30.7 years.
The majority of the surveyed persons (66.8%) have secondary education, only 9.6% have completed higher education. About 1/3 of respondents are employed full-time, 21.3% are employed part-time, and 16.7% are unemployed.
More than 4/5 of those who participated in the study are from a city, 12.5% are from a town, and 2.2% are from a village.
PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE AMONG PARTICIPANTS FROM BULGARIA IN 2024
| Psychoactive substance | In the last 30 days | In the last 12 months (but not in the last 30 days) | More than 12 months ago | Never | No data |
| Heroin | 16.5 | 5.1 | 23.7 | 54.5 | 0.3 |
| Other opioids (methadone, fentanyl) | 28.5 | 6.6 | 4.0 | 24.4 | 36.5 |
| Cocaine (incl. crack) | 18.3 | 17.7 | 34.5 | 28.9 | 0.7 |
| Amphetamine | 24.9 | 20.2 | 36.5 | 17.2 | 1.2 |
| Methamphetamine | 12.0 | 11.4 | 24.4 | 51.5 | 0.7 |
| Ecstasy | 2.6 | 8.2 | 37.5 | 51.0 | 0.7 |
| Benzodiazepines | 22.2 | 15.5 | 9.1 | 18.1 | 35.1 |
| GHB/GBL | 4.4 | 1.3 | 9.1 | 40.5 | 44.7 |
| Ketamine | 0.7 | 1.4 | 16.8 | 36.8 | 44.4 |
| “Pink cocaine” | 0.1 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 49.1 | 44.5 |
| LSD | 0.1 | 0.8 | 21.8 | 33.2 | 44.1 |
| Magic mushrooms | 0.5 | 2.8 | 23.9 | 28.5 | 44.4 |
| Other hallucinogens | 0.0 | 0.6 | 9.8 | 44.0 | 45.5 |
| Cannabis | 56.2 | 19.4 | 22.5 | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Synthetic cannabinoids | 15.3 | 7.2 | 10.3 | 23.6 | 43.7 |
| Semi-synthetic cannabinoids (HHC) | 3.9 | 4.7 | 9.2 | 37.0 | 45.3 |
| Synthetic cathinones | 0.2 | 1.9 | 12.2 | 40.4 | 45.3 |
| Alcohol | 81.3 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 0.8 | 5.7 |
| Tobacco (incl. e-cigarettes) | 94.5 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| Other nicotine products | 4.7 | 7.3 | 12.6 | 37.0 | 38.3 |
| Nitrous oxide | 6.6 | 6.7 | 15.8 | 31.0 | 39.9 |
Regarding the use of different types of drugs, the respondents indicated that they mostly used cannabis – 98.1% had at least one use of the substance in their lifetime, 81.6% – of amphetamine, 70.5% – of cocaine, 48.3% – of ecstasy, 47.8% – of methamphetamine, 46.8% – of benzodiazepines, 45.2% – of heroin, 39.1% – of other opioids (methadone, fentanyl). About 1/3 of the respondents have used synthetic cannabinoids at least once in their lifetime, 17.8% – semi-synthetic cannabinoids, 14.3% – synthetic cathinones.
If the data on drug use at least once in the last 12 months is considered, cannabis is again the most used substance – 75.7% (at 59% overall for the participants from 24 EU countries and Norway), followed by amphetamine – 45.1% (at 17% overall for the participants from 24 EU countries and Norway), benzodiazepines – 37.7% (at 12% overall for the participants from 24 EU countries and Norway), cocaine – 35.9% (at 29% overall for the participants from 24 EU countries and Norway). 22.5% of respondents had used synthetic cannabinoids at least once in the last 12 months, 8.6% – semi-synthetic cannabinoids (at 3% and 17% respectively overall for the participants from 24 EU countries and Norway).
In current use (in the last 30 days), the most used substance was also cannabis (56.2%), as well as amphetamine (24.9%), benzodiazepines (22.2%) and cocaine (18.3%).
The high rate (28.5%) of other opioids use (methadone, fentanyl) in the last 30 days suggests a special attention in the future regarding the prevalence of its use in Bulgaria. It is also important to note the very high proportion of cigarette users among drug users – 94.5% of those covered in the study (96.6% of respondents) had used tobacco in the last 30 days before completing the questionnaire.
More information about European Web Survey on Drugs