Hungary’s latest drug statistics are not promising

An annual ministerial report presenting the latest drug use statistics and trends – the 2019 report of Nemzeti Drog Fókuszpont (“National Drug Focus”) – has been published, which presents the latest statistics and trends related to drug use in Hungary in 2018. More and more people are being detained by the police for drugs, and prison sentences are on the rise. However, there is no improvement in hepatitis C infection, nor is there a change in the number of clients receiving treatment. The report also shows that prevention programs and research do not receive enough of the national budget, Index writes.

Unfortunately, there is no detailed information available about public expenditure dedicated to dealing with drug-related issues. Since 2008, there has been no comprehensive survey of how much the Hungarian state spends on treatment programs, research, prevention, harm reduction, and other social services connected to drug abuse.

It is somewhat possible to calculate the amount of money spent on drug-related research, drug prevention, and substance abuse programs by looking at the drug-related tenders and their support by the government. In 2018, 186 applications were received by the Ministry, of which 138 were supported. A total of 350 million forints (€1 million) was distributed among the applicants, but the total demand was twice that, 778 million forints (€2.36 million).

131 million forints (€400,000) were asked for research and 402 million forints (€1.2 million) for prevention programs. The former received 30 million forints and the latter 170 million forints.

Segregated towns and youth are in the most danger

Due to the lack of comprehensive research, it is not known exactly how drug use patterns have evolved in Hungary. The last national survey was carried out in 2015, according to which one in ten Hungarian adults (18-64 years) has used at least one type of illicit drug in their lifetime

Most people try marijuana or hashish first (7.4% of the adult population), followed by ecstasy (4%), synthetic cannabinoids (1.9%), amphetamine (1.7%), and, ahead of cocaine, synthetic stimulants, mostly referred to as crystal (1.3%). In young adults (18-34), the order of substances is the same, except the proportion of the drugs is doubled.

We have no recent data on drug use among school-age children. According to a 2014 survey, among children in the early half of high school,

marijuana is the most widespread (18.6%).

A 2015 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), conducted among 16-year-old high school students, showed a strong correlation between stimulant drug use and socio-demographic background (school location and type, family structure, financial situation). The worse background the young person came from, the more frequent drug use was among them.

More and more people are going to prison for drugs

In 2013, the new Criminal Code introduced one of Europe’s strictest drug laws in Hungary – up to two years of imprisonment for a single cigarette or dose – which the government hoped would reduce the consumption and distribution of illicit substances.

Since 2015, more people have been convicted of drug offences each year. More and more people were sent to prison, three times as many as in 2015. However, 80% of drug offences are related to consumption.

In 2018, many nightclubs were also inspected – 5,462, to be exact.

According to the report, the explosive proliferation of designer drugs has brought not only the drug profession but also justice to a new phase. It causes serious disruption in the justice system because of the fact that by the time a case is closed, the designer drug may have been transferred to the list of illegal drugs, thus, the crime would need to be judged more severely.

Fewer young people get treatment

In addition to criminal statistics, it is also worth looking at how drug users get treatment. In 2018, more than 4,700 people were treated for drug problems, 90% of them in some kind of outpatient care.

Most have been treated for cannabis abuse (3,174 people), and their numbers have steadily increased in recent years. The second most common reason for getting into treatment was the consumption of different stimulants, and designer supplies (crystal, herbal) came in third.

The data also show that, since 2014, these drug users have been receiving less and less treatment. This may be due to the fact that disadvantaged, marginalised groups, such as those living in segregated areas, homeless people, young people in child welfare services, are the ones to use synthetic drugs that cause severe psychiatric symptoms.

It is also not good news that the average age of drug users entering treatment has increased by three years between 2008 and 2018 (from 25.3 years to 28.1 years). This is a bad sign because it shows that fewer young drug users are getting treatment.