Mid-Term Assessment of the EU Drugs Strategy 2013-2020 and Final Evaluation of the Action Plan on Drugs 2013-2016: Final report.

The aim of the EU Drugs Strategy 2013-2020 is to contribute to a reduction in drug demand and drug supply within the EU. The Strategy has so far been implemented by an Action Plan covering the period 2013-2016. This article sets out the findings of an evaluation that assesses the degree of implementation of the Strategy and the Action Plan in terms of outputs and, where possible, impacts.

Strategies for a risky business: How drug dealers manage customers, suppliers and competitors in Italy, Slovenia and Germany.

Background: A growing body of literature aims to improve understanding of the operations of drug trafficking markets through conducting interviews with dealers and traffickers. Insight into how these individuals conduct business can provide evidence to inform the efforts by policy makers, law enforcement and practitioners to disrupt illicit markets. This paper aims to make a contribution to this evidence base by extending the number of European countries in which interviews have been conducted with incarcerated drug dealers and traffickers.

Modeling the structure and operation of drug supply chains: The case of cocaine and heroin in Italy and Slovenia.

Multiple layers of dealers connect international drug traffickers to users. The fundamental activity of these dealers is buying from higher-level dealers and re-selling in smaller quantities at the next lower market level. Each instance of this can be viewed as completing a drug dealing "cycle".

Development of a Framework to Estimate the Cost of Opioid Dependence.

Opioid dependence imposes a range of costs on individuals, families, communities and society, and understanding these costs is important to inform policy and decision making in this area, especially when budgets for services to address challenges such as substance misuse are under pressure. This article sets out the findings of a targeted review of the harms of opioid dependence, and an assessment of existing estimates of the costs of opioid dependence. A proposed framework for developing new, more comprehensive estimates of the costs of opioid dependence is outlined.

Assessment of the implementation of the EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2012 and its Action Plans.

Illicit drug use continues to be an important public health and safety concern in Europe. Production, trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs constitute important criminal justice challenges in themselves, and are associated with other criminal activities. The 2005-2012 EU Drugs Strategy (as with previous strategies) was developed to complement and add value to national strategies and approaches while respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality set out in the EU Treaties.