What types and quantities of drugs were seized in Hungary in 2014?
According to the seizure data provided by BSZKI there was no significant change in the number of cannabis seizures in 2014, while the amount of seized herbal cannabis continued to drop compared to the previous two years. The number of cannabis resin seizures on the other hand is continuously growing. While the number of heroin seizures did not increase significantly, the amount of the material seized reached 70 kilograms in 2014, which is a significant change compared to the 5.7 kilograms seized during 2013. The number of amphetamine and MDMA seizures shows a slightly increasing tendency, however the seized amount in the case of both materials slightly dropped compared to 2013.
What kind of new psychoactive substances were seized in Hungary in 2014?
During 2010–2014 new psychoactive substances completely restructured the Hungarian drug market. Following the large-scale increase in the amount of mephedrone available in the summer of 2010, the proportion of the new psychoactive substances as compared to the “classical” drugs – substances listed in the schedules of the UN Drug Conventions – rose continuously. On the basis of the seizure data, by 2013 the market share of the new substances had exceeded the market share of “classical” substances in Hungary. In 2014 the new psychoactive substances constituted nearly 60% of all police seizures.
The share of two large groups of the new substances, cathinone derivatives and synthetic cannabinoids was the largest in the seizures. Cathinones are usually distributed in the form of powders. The most frequent active substances were: mephedrone in 2010, 4-MEC and MDPV in 2011, and pentedrone from 2012. During 2014 the proportion of alpha-PVP in the seizures rose significantly for a time, but by the end of the year it was pentedrone again that was the most characteristic substance. Since autumn 2010 there has been a continuous rise in the seizures of plant material impregnated with synthetic cannabinoids. The number of seizures of the products known as ‘herbal’, ’bio weed’ or ’sage’ in 2014 was nearly double the number of seizures of herbal cannabis.
What were the most common active agents in the tablets seized in the last years?
There has been a significant increase in the number of seized “classic” ecstasy tablets containing the active substance MDMA since 2012. While the number of such tablets seized in 2011 was 270, by 2012 this number was above 10,000. In 2013, with the number of seizures of all tablets containing illicit drugs or new psychoactive substances rising, frequency of occurrence of tablets containing the active substance MDMA was the highest (26% of seizures). As this tendency continued, more than half (53%) of the tablets seized in 2014 contained only MDMA-like substances.
What were the active substances detected in/on equipment related to injecting drug use?
On the basis of the active substances detected in/on injecting drug use related equipment subjected to laboratory testing, it is possible to monitor trends in the types and prevalence rates of substances injected by drug users. The tendency experienced in the previous two years continued, heroin and amphetamine, which had been dominant before 2010, were each detected in just 5% of the cases. In the majority of the cases cathinone derivatives were detected on the examined items, however, among these it was not pentedrone (9.5%) that was the most frequent any more as it was in 2013, but alpha-PVP (39.9% of the cases). In 35% of the cases several active substances were present, or other active substances occurring with less frequency were identified.
What were the mean street level prices of drugs and new psychoactive substances in 2014?
A continuous decrease in the prices of the new psychoactive substance and methamphetamine can be seen, however, the price of ecstasy tablets is increasing. The same rise can be observed in the cases of heroin and cocaine, which may be related to the change of their role on the market.
How did the active substance content of drugs change in 2014?
While there was no significant change in the case of herbal cannabis, the typically lower than 20% THC content of cannabis resin in the previous year changed and about a half of the samples analysed had a THC content of 20-40%.
Small quantities of powders containing heroin had an active substance content of 15-25%, while the heroin base content of amounts over 100 grams was characteristically in the range of 40-60%.
In the case of cocaine, the active substance content of amounts less than 100 grams was usually 4-80%, and the active substance content of larger amounts was between 40-85%.
The active substance content of powders containing methamphetamine did not change significantly as compared to the previous year. The concentration of the seized amphetamine powders was in the range of 1-70%. A distinct change as compared to previous years was that on several occasions small amounts of amphetamine were seized that had an active substance content of around 70%, i.e. they were practically undiluted powders.
The active substance content of ecstasy tablets also rose. About 10% of the tablet seizures analysed had an MDMA base content higher than 140 milligrams. The MDMA base content of tablets with a lower active substance content was generally between 40-100 milligrams.
Regarding new psychoactive substances consumed in powder form, there is measured active substance content data available with respect to pentedrone: the pentedrone base content of seized and tested powders was between 15-85%. The active substance content of various synthetic cannabinoids applied to herbal material was 1-10%.
