Drug consumption in Austria is still on the rise.
New reports indicate that drug consumption in Austria continues to rise, with cannabis and cocaine topping the list of most used substances. According to the "Suchtmittelbericht 2024" report issued by the Federal Criminal Office in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck, analyses of wastewater in 17 areas covering 3.5 million residents showed that drug consumption rates are much higher than expected. From Bregenz to Eisenstadt, large quantities of cannabis and cocaine are being consumed.
Globally, the percentage of drug users has increased by 28% over the last decade, driven by multiple crises and political instability, which criminal networks exploit. Social media and messaging apps facilitate access to drugs around the clock, contributing to an increase in reported cases. In 2024, the police recorded 37,310 reports, an increase of 5.3% from 2023, and serious drug-related crimes rose by 10%.
In the context of drug enforcement, 490 illegal farms and 12 laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs have been dismantled, mostly in the states of Niederösterreich, Steiermark, and Wien. Although the percentage of Austrian suspects remains the majority at 61.3%, their number is declining, while the number of foreign suspects has risen to 13,654, an increase of 15.6%. Syrians lead this category with 1,463 individuals, an increase of 43% compared to the previous year, followed by Germans, Serbs, Afghans, and Turks.
The impact of the Taliban's decision in Afghanistan to ban drug cultivation has directly affected Austria, where the quantities of seized heroin dropped from 102 kilograms in 2022 to 27 kilograms in 2024. However, this decline is accompanied by a dangerous trend towards more lethal synthetic alternatives, with 68 kilograms of them seized.
Cocaine posed a significant challenge this year, with seizures reaching 259 kilograms, due to lengthy investigations that resulted in the confiscation of large quantities inside trucks. One of the gangs arrested since November 2024 had smuggled hundreds of kilograms to Salzburg. Additionally, shipments of cannabis from Thailand via Schwechat Airport (Lower Austria) have become an increasing problem, with 800 kilograms seized.
On the positive side, the figures indicate that the youth category under 18 is increasingly moving towards abstaining from drug use, with reports in this category dropping from over 5,000 in 2020 to less than 4,000 last year. The age group of 18-20 also saw a similar decline. In contrast, the number of reports among the age groups of 25 to 39, as well as those over forty, has increased.