EMCDDA celebrates 20 years of monitoring

This year, the EMCDDA commemorates 20 years of monitoring the drugs problem in Europe. Over the last two decades, much has changed in the extent and nature of the phenomenon. In 1995, when the agency embarked on its mission, the EU was in the midst of a heroin epidemic, with drug policy largely driven by HIV transmission and AIDS-related and overdose deaths. In 2015, the policy drivers have diversified and the complexity of the drugs problem has increased, with many of the substances monitored today virtually unknown when the agency was first established.