EU Drug Market: Cannabis — Actions to address current threats and increase preparedness

This resource is part of EU Drug Market: Cannabis — In-depth analysis by the EMCDDA and Europol.

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Last update: November 2023

The available data strongly support a number of overall conclusions with regard to the protection of public health and security.

Improve the intelligence picture: detection, monitoring and analysis

• Improve the systematic monitoring of illicit cannabis cultivation in Europe. Solutions for this include developing agile monitoring tools and providing assistance to Member States to improve the timely reporting of data on cannabis cultivation sites in Europe.
• Improve the understanding of the manufacturing of cannabis products in Europe. Solutions include the development of a reporting tool to monitor the manufacturing of products derived from the cannabis plant, such as oils and other extracts of delta-9-THC, CBD and semi-synthetic cannabinoids.
• Improve the monitoring of the potency of cannabis products. Strengthening the monitoring of the various cannabinoids found in illicit cannabis products in the Member States could provide important signs of market changes and flag the emergence and availability of more harmful products in Europe.
• Establish a robust framework for monitoring the impact of any possible policy changes related to cannabis to increase preparedness and assess their impact on the illicit market, public health or security. This requires regular reviews of formal and informal policy incentives, undertaking risk assessments and the developing a conceptual model of outcomes of interest, establishing baseline data, and regular evaluations to inform strategic planning and the adaptation of cross-border interventions. Also essential are the development and regular updating of guidelines for law enforcement and judicial authorities.
• Further strengthen monitoring in relation to the emergence of new synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids through the EU Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances.
• Improve the profiling of cannabis resin. To understand the origins of the cannabis resin available on EU drug markets, including EU-based production, forensic profiling of seized resin should be carried out on a more regular basis. This will likely require enhancing cooperation within the EU Member States and with third countries such as Morocco, Lebanon and others along cannabis resin trafficking routes.
• Systematically monitor cannabis-market-related violence. Develop methods and sources that allow timely data collection and reporting to inform policy responses and operational interventions.
• Improve the monitoring of online platforms used to trade cannabis. The criminal use of surface and dark web platforms, including social media, needs to be monitored to complement the intelligence picture resulting from investigations into offline trafficking.

Strengthen responses to reduce supply and enhance security

• Strengthen operational responses to criminal networks involved in the cannabis market. In light of the widespread use of cannabis, alongside the market’s size, profitability and associated criminality, a higher priority should be given to tackling the illicit cannabis trade.
• Make full use of available joint investigation frameworks. Investigations within the framework of Operational Task Forces or Joint Investigation Teams are particularly effective in dismantling criminal networks with strong transnational connections.
• Prioritise investigations into high-value targets and criminal networks involved in the cannabis trade, including those involved in violence and labour exploitation, as well as those using corruption to facilitate their illegal activities. In addition, it is important to target brokers and specialised networks providing crime-as-a-service to criminals orchestrating cannabis trafficking in the EU. 
• Target money-laundering associated with the illicit cannabis market. In particular, efforts to identify the key players and modi operandi in the movement of funds should be intensified.
• Strengthen public-private partnerships and investigations into the exploitation of legal business structures for the cultivation and distribution of cannabis. In particular, investigations into transport companies, post and parcel services, real estate firms, utility providers and social media platforms should be prioritised.
• Intensify the investigation and monitoring of front companies that provide logistical support and equipment for illicit cannabis production and distribution.

Strengthen international cooperation

• Further enhance international cooperation between the Member States, EU bodies and agencies, third countries and key international stakeholders. This includes the authorities in countries where cannabis or cannabis products are produced, and those from where high-value targets operate.

Invest in capacity-building

• Allocate adequate human resources to operational and strategic responses to tackling cannabis cultivation and distribution.
• Invest in the development of innovative detection technologies and screening techniques. This includes identifying the most effective screening technologies for the detection of cannabis in containers, vehicles and ships as well as in post and parcel services, and ways of detecting indoor and outdoor cultivation sites using drones and satellites. Screening and interdiction could be improved through the use of artificial intelligence.
• Invest in technology and training for the timely interception, decryption and analysis of encrypted communications. Given the variety of languages spoken and the volume of information extracted, there is a pressing need to allocate sufficient resources to monitoring criminal communications and identify specialists that can interpret the information obtained. Automating the processing of such communications can be made more efficient through developments in artificial intelligence.
• Invest in awareness-raising and training. It is important to raise awareness and provide training to law enforcement and judicial authorities in Member States, in key partner countries and at EU level, regarding the emergence of novel cannabis consumer products, shifts in trafficking routes and modi operandi, or the development of technologically enhanced unmanned aerial vehicles and semi-submersible vessels. Frontline services should be alerted to the links between the illicit cannabis market and violence and corruption.

Strengthen policy, public health and safety responses

• Increase awareness of illicit cannabis markets at the policy level to enhance the preparedness and capacity of Member States to respond to emerging threats. This may include targeted rapid alerts, risk communication and threat assessments.
• Take a future-oriented approach. There is a risk that the success of efforts in known key locations may result in the displacement of trafficking routes and other criminal activities. A future-oriented approach to planning and assessment is therefore required to identify potential vulnerabilities, increase resilience and put preventive measures in place.
• Strengthen targeted crime prevention efforts. Targeted crime prevention programmes for young people need to be developed and implemented. Specific efforts are required to reduce the risk of vulnerable individuals being recruited into criminal activities related to cannabis trafficking, such as working as couriers and street-level dealers.
• Continue to invest in targeted prevention, treatment and harm reduction interventions to mitigate the harmful consequences of cannabis use. Specific measures should include preventing poisonings from synthetic cannabinoids and high-THC products.
• Respond to the environmental risks associated with illicit cannabis production in Europe. Reducing the carbon footprint of illicit indoor cannabis production should be a priority. There is a need to raise awareness among professionals and the public about the environmental damage caused by illicit cannabis production and its potential hazards, including the risk of fire, water and soil pollution, deforestation and water and energy use.

References

Consult the list of references used in this module.