COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
COM(94) 223 final 
Brussels, 21.06.1994 
94/0135 (COD) 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
Community action in the field of drug dependence 
Proposal for a 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DECISION 
adopting a programme of Community action on the prevention 
of drug dependence within the framework for action 
in the field of public health (1995-2000) 
(presented by the Commission) 
w$ 
COMMUNITY ACTION IN THE 
FIELD OF DRUG DEPENDENCE 
I. INTRODUCTION 3 
II. PRESENT SITUATION IN THE COMMUNITY 4 
III. OVERVIEW OF ACTIONS ON DRUG DEPENDENCE ALREADY TAKEN 
AT COMMUNITY LEVEL 5 
IV. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY APPROACH 7 
A. Objectives and means 7 
B. The public health framework and action on drug dependence 10 
C. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 11 
D. Cooperation between Member States 12 
E. Cooperation with international organizations and third countries 
regarding drug dependence 13 
V. THE PREVENTION OF DRUG DEPENDENCE AND COMMUNITY ACTION 14 
A. A multi disci pli nary and multidimensional context 14 
1. Specific preventive actions 15 
2. Early detection and screening 18 
3. Social and occupational reintegration 19 
4. Drug addicts in prison 20 
5. Licit substances 21 
6. Data collection 21 
7. Formulation and dissemination of research 22 
B. First programme of Community action on the prevention of drug 
dependence 23 
1. Areas of activities 23 
2. Consultation and Participation 23 
3. Evaluation and reports 24 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This Communication and this proposal for a programme for the prevention of drug 
dependence need to be seen in the double context of the Communication of the 
Commission of 24 November 1993 on the framework for action in the field of public 
health(1), and the European Union Action Plan to combat drugs(2) which the Commission 
has submitted to the Council and Parliament. 
2. In its Communication of 24 November 1993 the Commission defined a framework for 
future action at Community level in order to attain the objectives on health protection laid 
down in Articles 3(0) and 129 of the Treaty establishing the European Community 
following the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union. The role of the 
Community is identified as underpinning the efforts of the Member States in the public 
health field, assisting in the formulation and implementation of objectives and strategies, 
and contributing to the provision of health protection across the Community, setting as 
a target the best results already obtained in a given area anywhere in the Community. 
3. In initiating action under Article 129, the Community has to address itself to preventing 
diseases and protecting health. Drug dependence is the only threat specifically mentioned 
in this Article, and the Commission Communication identified its prevention as a priority 
for Community action. 
4. Drug dependence is a multi-faceted problem, with links to major social scourges such as 
social exclusion and unemployment as well as crime. The difficulties encountered by 
Member States in combatting its severe effects on society has led to a series of initiatives 
being taken at Community level over the past few years. The wide range of initiatives 
adopted by the Council and the European Parliament has demonstrated the seriousness 
with which they regard this problem and their conviction that actions to tackle it are 
needed at the Community level. The Community is now in a position to consolidate its 
achievements in the field of drug prevention and build on the work already carried out 
by proposing a forward-looking programme for drug dependence within the overall 
context of public health.This programme will aim to cover: 
the use of narcotics and psychotropic substances; 
the abuse of alcohol and pharmaceutical products(3); 
(1) COM(93) 559 final. 
(2) COM(94) 234 final. 
Notably "medicinal products subject to special medical prescription" under Council 
Directive 92/26/EEC of 31 March 1992. (3) 
the misuse of chemical substances or products (solvents, etc.) for drug dependence 
purposes(4). 
5. The programme is based, among other things, on an analysis of the experiences acquired 
from previous Community initiatives launched at the request of the Member States. It also 
takes account of the drug demand reduction work undertaken or envisaged by 
international organizations, including the United Nations International Drug Control 
Programme, the specialist institutions of the United Nations, in particular the World 
Health Organization, and regional organizations such as the Council of Europe (Pompidou 
Group). The stepping up of cooperation with these organizations and the opening up of 
the programme to third countries, in particular to the countries of Central and Eastern 
Europe, will address the international dimension of the drugs phenomenon. 
H. PRESENT SITUATION IN THE COMMUNITY 
6. Two reports on drug demand reduction in the European Community have provided much 
useful information(5) but have demonstrated that there is a lack of reliable and comparable 
indicators within the European Community. This makes it difficult to assess the total 
number of drug users and to compare drug consumption levels and trends. The European 
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction will help to fill this gap(6). Despite the 
lack of available data, the second report on drug demand reduction revealed the following 
general trends: 
increase in drug-related mortality and morbidity(7); 
increase in the number of requests for treatment; 
increase in the number of first time use of drugs; 
high percentage of drug addicts among prisoners; 
increase in the number of AIDS cases linked to drug use; 
growing concern among drug users, their families and other persons in the 
Community about the risks of infection with HIV. 
(4) The terms "use", "abuse" and "misuse" are commonly used to qualify dependencies 
resulting from illicit and licit drugs and substances. 
(5) COM(90) 527 final of 8 November 1990 and SEC(92) 725 final of 25 May 1992. 
(6) OJ No L 36, 12.2.1993, p.l, and OJ No C 225, 20.8.1993, p. 3. 
(7) Only in the Schengen area, death from overdose increased from 1 034 cases in 1980 to 
4 843 cases in 1991 (without data from Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands). - National 
Statistics - Interpol - Lyon. 
7. Of particular importance is the question of drug addictions in prisons. The figures suggest 
that the percentage of drug addicts in the prison population is above 30% in eight 
Member States (estimates supplied by the Member States in 1993). 
8. The high number of Aids cases linked to drug use is still a major concern. The data 
yielded from the monitoring of AIDS in the European Community and the COST 
countries(8) reveal that between 1991 and 1993 injecting drug users accounted for more 
than 34% of the AIDS cases in men and more than 54% of the AIDS cases in women; 
in addition, the absolute figures for AIDS incidence in this transmission group are still 
increasing. 
9. A special survey designed to reveal Europeans' attitudes, opinions and levels of 
knowledge concerning illicit drugs was carried out by the Commission by means of the 
Eurobarometer surveys(9) in March and May 1992. The results showed that more than 
500 000 young Europeans were offered drugs by the age of 15, and almost 3 500 000 by 
the age of 19. Generally speaking, young Europeans are well informed about drugs such 
as hashish, cocaine and heroin, but know much less about new drugs such as crack or 
ecstasy and their associated risks. The type of person offered drugs is most often: male, 
a student, aged under 35 (for heroin, hashish and cocaine) or under 25 (for LSD, crack 
and ecstasy). While there was general approval for the establishment of special centres 
to take care of drug addicts, the use of substitute drugs to treat them aroused mixed 
reactions. The free distribution of syringes was approved only by the young, the better 
educated and those who live in large towns. Older persons and the less well educated 
were more in favour of repression and/or of isolating drug addicts. 
m. OVERVIEW OF ACTIONS ON DRUG DEPENDENCE ALREADY TAKEN AT 
COMMUNITY LEVEL 
European Council 
10. Drug addiction was discussed by the successive European Councils of Milan (1985), 
The Hague (1986) and London (1986). Member States were asked to draw on their 
experience in the treatment and reintegration of drug addicts in order to participate in 
informing teachers, parents and young people about the dangers of drug abuse and to 
collaborate in the drafting of reports and recommendations on measures which could be 
taken at Community level. The European Council has returned to the problem regularly, 
as reflected in its declarations at Dublin and Rome (1990), Luxembourg and Maastricht 
(1991), Lisbon and Edinburgh (1992), and Brussels (1993). In addition the European Plan 
adopted by the European Council in Rome (1990) and reconsidered by the European 
(8) 
(9) WHO-EC collaborating Centre on AIDS, quarterly report of 30 June 1993. 
Eurobarometer 37 - European Drug Prevention Week. 
Council in Edinburgh (1992) contributed to a significant extent to the development of 
Community action in the field of drug dependence. 
Council 
11. First discussed by the Health Ministers at an informal meeting in 1984, the fight against 
drug addiction has since evolved into a priority preoccupation of the Council of Ministers 
and the Ministers of Health meeting within the Council. The Commission transmitted to 
the Council two Communications in succession, one concerning cooperation at 
Community level on health related problems00*, which identified the fight against drug 
addiction as one of the priorities, and the other concerning Community actions in the 
fight against drugs(U). Focusing on prevention and health education activities, this latter 
Communication reflected an overall approach to the drug problem, complementing the 
specific measures to combat production and supply advocated in a Recommendation for 
a Council Decision on Community participation in the preparatory work and the 
International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking(12). 
12. Step by step, the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council have 
put into practice the willingness of the Member States to take concerted measures to 
resolve the drugs problem, as expressed by the Hague European Council by adopting a 
series of Resolutions and Conclusions(13) requesting the Commission to support the 
Member States in the following fields: screening, health data, AIDS prevention among 
drug addicts, implementation of coordinated actions to prevent drug addiction, exchanges 
of information and production of regular reports on the reduction of drug demand, 
rehabilitation of drug addicts in prison, and coordination of two European Drug 
Prevention Weeks. The Education Ministers have also raised the question. 
13. In order to comply with these specific requests, the Commission defined a number of 
basic activities. These involved promoting and facilitating: 
exchanges of experience and information between Member States in the fields of 
primary, secondary and tertiary drug prevention; 
the undertaking of pilot projects in the above-mentioned fields, especially projects 
involving several Member States or capable of serving as reference points for 
other Member States; 
(10) COM(84) 502 final. 
(l,) COM(86) 601 final. 
(12) COM(86) 457 final. 
(13) List annexed. 
closer cooperation between national structures and non-governmental organizations 
(NGOs); 
the establishment of Community networks of NGOs. 
14. Following the recommendations of the European Council in Dublin (1990) the 
Commission submitted ;o the Council a proposal for a Regulation on the establishment 
of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, which was subsequently 
adopted on 8 February 1993<14). The Regulation entered into force on 30 October 1993, 
following the decision of the Brussels European Council that the Monitoring Centre 
should be sited in Lisbon. The Regulation stipulates that one of the Centre's top priorities, 
and the one to which it is required to give special attention during its initial three-year 
work programme, is drug demand and drug demand reduction. 
European Parliament 
15. The European Parliament has played an important role in getting drugs onto the agenda 
at Community level, adopting several Resolutions on the matter from 1980 onwards(15) and 
creating in 1985 a Committee of Inquiry into the drugs problem in the Member States of 
the Community. Following the report produced by this Committee of Inquiry, the 
European Parliament drafted two resolutions(16), calling for concerted action to resolve the 
drugs problem and for the drawing up of a comprehensive Community policy to combat 
drugs, covering, as far as reduction of demand is concerned, prevention, detoxification 
and rehabilitation. The Parliament emphasized in particular the necessity to ensure that 
more effort is directed towards endeavours to dissuade potential drug use, particularly 
among young people through health education. 
IV. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY APPROACH 
A. Objectives and means 
16. In line with Article 129, the Commission Communication on public health identified drug 
dependence as a priority for future action by means of a specific programme. In drawing 
up such a programme the Commission has to identify specific activities which focus on 
preventing drug dependence. These activities have to be coherent with and complementary 
to other proposed programmes and activities under the public health framework. 
(14) OJ No L 36, 12.2.1993, p. 1, and OJ No C 225, 20.8.1993, p. 3. 
(15) Notably: Resolution of 10 March 1980 (OJ No C 85, 8.4.1980, p. 15); Resolution of 
14 May 1982 (OJ No C 149, 14.6.1982, p. 120); Resolution of 13 September 1985 
(OJ No C 262, 14.10.1985, pp.119-123). 
(16) Resolution of 9 October 1986 (OJ No C 283, 10.11.1986, p. 79) and Resolution of 
18 January 1989 (OJ No C 47, 27.2.1989, p. 51). 
17. Future Community action in the public health field must take account of the principle of 
subsidiarity and the considerations set out in paragraph 27 of the Commission's 
Communication. The Community shall take action only if, and in so far as, the objectives 
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States themselves and can, therefore, by 
reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the 
Community. Activities should be selected on the basis of prior appraisal and should yield 
a Community added value while achieving maximum cost efficiency. 
18. The following criteria in particular have been identified for assessing the need for 
Community action in the drug dependence field: 
an activity on a scale which Member States themselves could not, or could only 
with difficulty, implement; 
an activity, which, implemented jointly, would offer obvious benefits even after 
taking into account the extra costs involved; 
an activity which, because of the complementary nature of work being done at 
national level, enables significant results to be obtained in the Community as a 
whole; 
an activity which leads, where the need is recognized, to the establishment of best 
practices; 
an activity which contributes to the strengthening of solidarity and social cohesion 
in the Community, and promotes its overall harmonious development. 
19. In accordance with the Commission's Communication on public health the Commission's 
role will be to: 
facilitate the exchange of information and models of good practice in particular 
through networks and other exchange systems; 
lend support by providing appropriate incentives; 
encourage and coordinate, as necessary, activities at Community level. 
The Commission will, in particular, support proposals submitted by Member States and 
initiatives involving organizations and agencies active in the field of drug prevention In 
addition the Commission will cooperate with international organizations and transnational 
associations active in this area. 
20. To have the greatest possible effect with the limited resources at its disposal, it will be 
important for the Commission to concentrate on the support of projects which normally 
will involve several Member States. In this way it will be possible to maximize the 
impact of measures, thus ensuring the visibility and added value of Community action. 
21. Special attention will be paid to the obligation contained in Article 129 which states that 
health protection requirements shall form a constituent part of the Community's other 
policies. Many aspects of Community policy impinge on the prevention of drug 
dependence and the Commission undertakes in its Communication on public health to 
ensure that full account is taken of health protection and drug dependence prevention 
issues. The Commission has established appropriate procedures to ensure that this 
commitment is respected through adequate coordination and consultation in the 
development of relevant policies. In addition, the Commission will submit on a yearly 
basis a report on the health protection aspects of policies which will form part of the 
Commission's Annual Report. 
22. The following are examples of other Community policies and instruments likely to have 
an impact on the prevention of drug dependence: 
certain instruments concerning the completion of the single market and consumer 
policy, particularly as regards drug precursors, pharmaceutical products, medicinal 
products and dangerous substances and preparations; 
the social affairs policies and instruments, particularly concerning migrants, 
poverty, employment, protection of workers' health and safety and the European 
Social Fund; 
education and training for young people and health professionals, and activities 
targeted at young people in the field of culture, communication and information; 
instruments designed to protect citizens' rights such as personal data protection 
measures; 
research on health systems, on addiction behaviour as described in the 
Commission proposal for a specific RTD programme in the area of biomedicine 
and health, 1994 - 1998(17), assessment of requirements, health education and 
information. 
(17) COM(94) 68 final of 30 March 1994. 
8. The public health framework and the prevention of drug dependence 
23. The prominence accorded to combatting drug dependence in the context of public health 
reflects changing perceptions of how to conduct the fight against drugs, both at global 
level and within the Member States. In the past, the strategy adopted by the international 
community tended to concentrate more on reducing supply and stamping out trafficking. 
Even when demand reduction measures were introduced, they were essentially based on 
a law enforcement approach. Numerous factors have led to this strategy being gradually 
modified, including the following: 
the continuing inflow of illicit drugs despite all efforts to combat trafficking and 
reduce supply; 
the increasing misuse and abuse of licit substances and products; 
the increased risks posed by communicable diseases such as hepatitis and Aids, 
which are especially associated with intravenous drug use; 
the need to develop approaches to supplement law enforcement so as to meet the 
social and health needs of drug users. 
These factors have led to a greater emphasis on demand reduction as part of an integrated 
approach to the drugs problem, and to the emergence of prevention as a priority theme. 
24. Indeed, this trend was recently confirmed by the United Nations and is also apparent in 
the current policies of the Member States. The preventive approach to drug use and its 
consequences is increasingly finding a place in the more general context of social, 
educational and health policies and structures(18). 
25. Drug dependence cannot be considered in isolation as it is often associated with other 
health problems and issues, such as tobacco consumption, communicable diseases, health 
promotion and health education. These are already being tackled in individual Community 
programmes or are due to be tackled in a coordinated way in future programmes. In 
particular, the spread of HIV among intravenous drug-users causes major concern. In this 
context it should be borne in mind that intravenous drug-users may combine the three 
known channels by which HIV can be transmitted, namely transmission through the 
bloodstream, sexual transmission and transmission from mother to baby. 
26. Dependence also arises as a result of the abuse of alcohol and of pharmaceutical 
substances or by the misuse of chemical products such as solvents particularly by young 
people. This points to the need for effective health information and education strategies. 
(18) SEC(92) 725 final of 25 May 1992. 
10 
27. It is also clear that drug prevention actions under the heading of public health policy need 
to be coordinated with law enforcement, since it can include a socio-medical dimension 
(e.g. alternatives to imprisonment for the delinquent user), and a health dimension 
(e.g. health care for drug addicts in prisons). 
C. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 
28. The European Monitoring Centre for drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has been 
established to provide the Community and its Member States with objective, reliable and 
comparable information at European level concerning drugs and drug addiction and their 
consequences. In order to achieve its task the Centre has to collect, register and analyze 
existing information, including data resulting from research, communicated by Member 
States as well as that emanating from Community, non-governmental national sources and 
competent international organizations; carry out surveys, preparatory studies and 
feasibility studies, together with any pilot projects necessary to accomplish its tasks; 
organize meetings of experts; set up and make available scientific documentation 
resources and assist in the promotion of information activities; provide an organizational 
and technical system of supplying information on similar or complementary programmes 
or actions pursued by the Member States; establish and coordinate the European 
Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction (REITOX), a computer network 
forming the infrastructure for the collection and exchange of information and 
documentation; facilitate exchanges of information between decision-makers, researchers, 
specialists and those involved in combating drugs in governmental and non-governmental 
organizations. 
29. The Centre will have an important role to play in the field of demand reduction to which 
it will have to give special attention during its first three-year work programme. The 
Commission and the Member States, as members of the Management Board, will be able 
to ensure that the Centre carries out its mandate to the full. In the field of demand 
reduction, in particular, the Centre will have a role to play in certain areas covered by the 
present Communication, namely statistics and epidemiological data, research, studies and 
surveys, and assessment. 
30. The activities of the Centre which concern the collection and circulation of information 
will provide important input for possible proposals for actions and measures and facilitate 
the development of policies by the Commission, the Council and the Member States, 
according to their respective competence. The Commission, for its part, will make 
available to the Centre the information and statistical data available to it. 
11 
D. Cooperation between Member States 
31. The Member States are primarily responsible for all care of drug addicts and treatment 
of drug dependence and aspects of their financing and delivery. However, the Commission 
may be called on by the Member States to assist them in improving their collaboration 
on health care matters and may also provide assistance to them in actions designed to 
improve the quality of health care and treatment. As foreseen under Article 129, the 
Commission is willing to facilitate cooperation in the following areas: 
* best available options for the development of various therapies; 
* methodology for evaluating and comparing therapeutic strategies, structures and 
practices; 
* comparisons on the availability of treatment and access to it; 
* analysis of the provisions which encourage therapy for drug addicts, particularly 
AIDS and HIV-positive patients, pregnant addicts and the newborn affected by 
drug addiction; 
* incorporation of therapy and other alternative measures into the law enforcement 
process. 
32. The Commission, where appropriate in collaboration with the European Monitoring Centre 
on Drugs and Drug Addiction, will encourage cooperation between Member States in 
these fields by supporting exchanges of information and experience and Community-wide 
dissemination of the best practices. Cooperation will also be encouraged through the 
development of networks and the provision of financial support for programmes or pilot 
projects addressing objectives shared by the Member States who wish to participate. 
33. Without prejudice to the European Community's competencies, in particular those arising 
from Article 129, Title VI of the Treaty on European Union also identifies the fight 
against drug addiction as a matter of common interest to be addressed in the context of 
cooperation in the fields of Justice and Home affairs. This opens the possibility of 
developing new instruments (joint positions, joint actions, conventions) for which the 
Commission or any Member State may make proposals, and which may have an impact 
also on public health policies. In the context of its Communication on a European Union 
Action Plan to combat drugs, the Commission also addresses this aspect. 
12 
E. Cooperation with international organizations and third countries regarding drug 
dependence 
34. Drug dependence knows no frontiers be they national or those of the Union. Close 
cooperation is called for with third countries, particularly with the Union's neighbouring 
countries, net oniy i»controlling drag trafficking and supply but also m the field of drug 
demand reduction. 
35. The existing exchange of infernal 
reinforced. Considering the scale of movement at the Union's borders, links need to be 
establiAed with fee structures responsible fer prevention aod fc* the treatment of drug 
dependence- in theIMonfo neigfrcKxirffi&CCTuitrics, These cohanges of information could 
be completed by an nrchangc of speaaHsfe and tie joint organization of conferences, 
36. Cooperation is intergovernmeolal international organizatioiis should be pursued and 
developed with each of the organizations which deal with the different aspects of chug 
demand reduction, ht so far a» public health aspect it concerned 
lit hfib with me Council of Europe^s PompiaVai Gixwp on subjecU of coinmon 
intecest wilt he consolidated and joint projects established to pod efforts and 
ayoeddnpHcafiott of effort. 
Cooperation with the WHO on the health aspects of drug dependence, including 
the asks with AIDS and me study of new forms of drug dependence, will be 
dose cooperation with the ILO on drug dependence at work will also be pursued 
in order to develop prevention and assistance models appropriate to the workplace. 
The United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) is currently stepping up 
Ha activities in the field of prevention and demand reduction, including action 
taken in the framework of international conventions. This will allow the 
establishment of appropriate links between the Community and the UNDCP 
activities. Of particular importance is the improvemem rf tests fOT drugs in body 
fluids. 
Cooperation with UNESCO, as concerns the prevention, education and drugs 
programme (PEDDRO) which is being jointly developed and which will be 
pursued and intensified. 
Due to its strengthened role under the TEU, the Commission can encourage such 
cooperation by two means: via its right of initiative pursuant to Article 129 of the 
European Community Treaty and via the right of initiative it is enjoying under Title V 
of the Treaty on European Union concerning the Common Foreign and Security Policy 
(CFSP). The European Council in Lisbon, by identifying the fight against drugs as an area 
13 
suitable for joint action by the European Union in the framework of the CFSP paved the 
way for complementarity action by the Union on the external level. 
37. Without prejudice to relations which the Commission may maintain pursuant to 
Article 229 of the EC Treaty, the EMCDDA will also have to pursue cooperation, in its 
field of competence, with these organizations, while avoiding any duplication of work. 
V. THE PREVENTION OF DRUG DEPENDENCE AND COMMUNITY ACTION 
38. The extent and complexity of the drugs phenomenon is closely bound up with the socio-
cultural, legal, medical, socio-psychological and economic factors prevailing in the 
Member States. These factors vary from one Member State to another and bear on 
Member States' policies in the field of drugs(19) 
39. There are certain points of convergence in the individual approaches used by 
Member States, a number of which have been outlined in the past, particularly by the 
Council. They underline for example, the need to concentrate efforts primarily on 
prevention and more particularly on information and health education for the public and 
target groups(20) and the need to establish clearly-defined policies to deal with the 
problems resulting from drug use. These policies, according to the Council(21), ought to 
establish not only the ultimate objective (an end to drug use) but also the intermediate 
objectives which need to be attained (lowering of the mortality rate, reduction of the risks 
of infection by HIV or other agents of infection, reduction of marginalization). 
A. A multidisciplinary and multidimensional context 
40. Drug dependence is a complex phenomenon which needs to be tackled at various levels -
local, national, Community and international - and in ways which involve 
multidisciplinary and multidimensional responses and actions across a range of different 
areas. Policies on the prevention of drug dependence need in particular to take account 
of the following: 
activities targeted at high risk groups in specific settings; 
identification, development, testing and use of best practices for disseminating 
information and providing advice to target groups; 
(19) Extract from the Resolution of 11 November 1991. 
(20) Conclusion of 3 December 1990 (OJ No C 329, 31.12.1992 p 20) and Declaration of 
15 May 1992 (OJ No C 148, 12.6.1992, p. 3). 
(21) Conclusion of 16 May 1989 (OJ No C 185, 22.7.1989, p. 3). 
14 
initiatives in the field of education and training in order to develop drug 
prevention strategies; 
work on early detection and counselling of drug users; 
rehabilitation and social reintegration of drug addicts. 
The scope for Community action in so far as these areas are concerned can be addressed 
under a number of different headings: 
1. Specific preventive actions 
41. Certain social aspects which are often associated with drug users need to be taken into 
account in any preventive approach as they can make it difficult to carry out effective 
actions. These may include a high degree of marginalization, aberrant behaviour resulting 
from the administration of substances highly dangerous to health, and considerable 
difficulties in ensuring the adequate delivery of medical and social services. Nevertheless 
experience shows that appropriate and specific preventive actions help to motivate addicts 
to stop taking drugs or to assist them to reduce their intake or to persuade them to change 
to safer methods of administration. This demonstrates that such actions have to be 
continued to reduce the risk associated with drug dependence. High priority also needs 
to be given to preventive actions designed to make European citizens more aware and 
knowledgeable about drug dependence, its causes and consequences, through specific 
information and health education actions. In addition, actions need to be undertaken to 
improve the knowledge and skills of professionals directly involved in the prevention of 
drug dependence. Little is known about drug consumption methods and trends within the 
Community in particular in target groups, such as ethnic minorities and immigrants and 
the factors shaping drug use, in particular those shaping initial experimentation and the 
transition to regular use. Furthermore, drug demand is constantly changing and therefore 
on-going qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the programmes and actions are 
needed in order to improve and, where appropriate, re-define prevention policies. 
Improvement of awareness among the public and specific target groups 
42. There is a need for specific actions designed to promote healthy lifestyles and provide 
objective information to the general public and specific target groups (particularly parents 
and young people) on drugs and drug addiction, in addition to the actions to be taken 
within the context of the programme of Community action on health promotion, 
information, education and training(22>. These call for the deployment of a variety of 
strategies, ranging from the organization of official prevention campaigns involving the 
use of the media, to the promotion of positive role models in the sport and cultural 
worlds. 
(22) COM(94) 202 final of 1 June 1994. 
15 
43. Activities in this area which would be worthy of consideration include: 
the organization of further European Drug Prevention Weeks. These could be 
organized every two years, as suggested in the evaluation of the 1992 Week, and 
could be devoted on each occasion to a different theme to be chosen in liaison 
with the national coordinators; 
the creation and supporting of telephone help-line initiatives directed towards 
young people, and investigate the possibilities of introducing a single standard 
telephone number for such services in all Member States; 
support for pilot actions to improve the effectiveness of information campaigns 
and determine the awareness of Europeans with regard to drugs and drug 
prevention including changes in their attitudes towards drugs; 
support for the creation and testing of tools and models for disseminating 
information in at-risk areas; 
support for the identification and use of appropriate information vectors for 
particular targets (schools, workplace, hospitals, pharmacies, doctors' waiting 
rooms, prisons, military barracks, etc.); 
facilitating exchanges concerning the most effective methods of conveying 
information, especially to certain groups identified as being particularly vulnerable; 
making available the anti-doping code of conduct for athletes. 
Health education 
44. In line with the guiding principles mentioned in the previous European Plan to Combat 
Drugs and the approach developed in the Commission Communication on the framework 
for action in the field of public health, prevention of drug dependence through education 
is best carried out in the general context of promoting more positive attitudes towards 
health. 
45. Specific measures have been identified in the past, notably by the European Parliament*23*, 
and these will need to be tied in with the actions developed under the programme of 
Community action on health promotion, information, education and training. They are 
aimed not only at schoolchildren and students but also at groups outside the school 
environment, as well as with families and all those involved in the provision of education. 
(23) Resolution on education for health and drugs misuse in the Member States of the 
European Community and the Council of Europe (OJ No C 150, 15.6.1992, p. 42). 
* 
16 
46. Activities in this area which could be considered include: 
- the creation of a pilot Community network giving priority to drug prevention, 
based on a selection by Member States of schools located in at-risk areas and in 
association with the existing European network of health-promoting schools; 
the establishment and implementation of integrated projects, programmes and basic 
drug prevention guidelines in the schools involved in this network, with the 
participation wherever possible of children and parents; 
initiatives to make education on drugs a more integral part of the vocational 
training received by teachers and youth leaders in the field of drug prevention, and 
initiatives to improve coordination between all those involved in the provision of 
education (parents' organizations, the teaching profession, educators, addict support 
associations, the medical profession, etc.); 
- studies and analyses to highlight children's and young persons' perceptions of 
drugs and about the availability of drugs in schools. 
Training 
47. The effectiveness of all of the abovementioned actions depends on the availability of 
suitably trained personnel. Further training in drug problems is needed not only for 
professionals with direct responsibilities in the field of prevention (health professionals, 
educators, etc..) but also for professionals likely to come into contact with drug addicts 
in other contexts (prison staff and police officers), so as to help them understand and 
diagnose the problem and employ appropriate prevention strategies. 
48. Activities in this area which could be considered include: 
staff and student exchanges and exchanges of information and experience, 
including the establishment of pilot projects for exchanges of experience between 
local authorities in different Member States concerning prevention models and 
practices, with a view to developing joint actions; 
further-training programmes for health professionals, especially general 
practitioners and pharmacists; 
the development of training material geared to the needs of the professional 
groups concerned; 
the implementation of pilot projects for further-training of police and prison 
officers; 
the establishment of multidisciplinary drug prevention training modules. 
17 
49. Community programmes and actions in the field of education, traimng and youth, and 
in ^tioular ^e propose SOCRATES, LEONARDO DA VINCI and YOUTH FOR 
EUROPE HI programmes, may serve as a framework for projects aimed at promoting 
transnational cooperation, mobility and exchanges in this field. 
50. The health risks resulting from drug use are considerable. They arise from the shared use 
of injecting equipment among intravenous drug users which encourages the transmission 
of diseases, such as hepatitis and ADDS and can lead to poisoning by septicaemia, and 
death from overdose. 
51. Preventing communicable diseases essentially depends on changing the risk behaviours 
of certain vulnerable groups. However, it is difficult to persuade drug addicts to make 
such changes: because they are often socially marginalized, they are a difficult group to 
reach and they tend to pay little heed to official messages. 
52. Activities in this area which could be considered include: 
support for the introduction of specific methods of conveying information on risk 
behaviour to intravenous drug users, including the involvement of persons with 
first-hand experience who can use their knowledge to help to spread relevant 
information concerning prevention; 
support for the introduction of innovatory methods and for the most effective 
methods of prevention, including projects involving the distribution of disinfection 
kits and safe injecting equipment; 
an assessment of the impact of syringe distribution schemes in terms of reducing 
the risks associated with injecting drugs, and the accompanying health measures 
required, including the development of maintenance programmes; 
support for the establishment of reception and information structures; 
the promotion of coordination between the poison control centres to establish an 
early warning system for instances of acute poisoning linked to drug use; 
the establishment of an inventory of the drugs which are commonly used 
intravenously by addicts and their side effects. 
2. Early detection and screening 
53. There are two main concerns with regard to early detection and screening for drug use, 
each corresponding to a particular environment, the immediate environment of children 
and young persons and the work environment. These are: 
18 
the early detection and counselling of children and young persons who are drug 
users; 
the reliability of tests on body tissues and fluids to detect the use of illicit drugs 
at work. 
54. Vigilance, resulting in early detection of a child's or young person's involvement in drugs 
followed up by an appropriate response, can prevent a slide into drug dependence. To be 
able to detect the problem, the persons concerned need to be able to recognize certain 
behavioural changes symptomatic of drug taking, and those responsible for young persons 
need to have access to advice and to appropriate preventive instruments. Initiatives aimed 
at providing advice to teachers and others in the young person's social environment 
(e.g. youth leaders and parents) concerning the signs of possible drug use by children and 
young persons are of particular importance. 
55. Drug taking can indeed be confirmed by testing body tissues and fluids, e.g. hair and 
urine. But the results of such tests need to be interpreted with care: comparisons between 
different tests have highlighted the risk of false-positive or false-negative results and may 
need to be confirmed. There is also a need to ensure quality assurance in testing. 
56. The question of the reliability of tests on body fluids to detect the use of illicit drugs was 
the subject of the Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member 
States meeting within the Council of 16 May 1989(24). The Commission, with the 
assistance of a working party composed of representatives of the Member States, is in the 
process of drafting a Communication. The actions envisaged respond to the different 
points contained in the Council's conclusions. 
3. SocjaJ and occupational reintegration 
57. The social repercussions of drug addiction are manifold, and addicts are often 
marginalized by their addictive behaviour. A recent study at European level showed, for 
example, that drugs are by far and away the biggest cause of social exclusion, with 60% 
of the interviewees (out of a sample of 20 000 persons) saying they would object to an 
immediate neighbour who was a drug addict (as opposed to 47% for an alcoholic, 36% 
for a person with "a criminal record", 32% for an extreme right-winger, 30% for a 
homosexual and 26% for a person suffering from AIDS). Health support for drug addicts 
therefore needs to be accompanied by social support, a sine qua non for their effective 
reintegration into society. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it seems that the absence of 
social reintegration measures imposes an additional financial burden on the public health 
system by undermining the prevention process. 
(24) OJ No C 185, 22.7.1989, p. 2. 
19 
58. Activities in this area which could be considered include: 
evaluating and strengthening policies and practices concerning the reintegration 
and rehabilitation of drug addicts at the workplace, including actions taken by the 
private sector; 
programmes and pilot projects offering vocational training opportunities in addict 
reception centres, with a view to creating standard programmes; 
sporting and cultural programmes which, by promoting healthy lifestyles among 
drug addicts, facilitate their integration into other circles. 
4. Drug addicts in prison 
59. The results of the Seminar on "Management of Drug Addicts in Prison" of 3-5 March 
1994, organized by the Commission with the assistance of the Greek authorities and the 
participation of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe in response to the 
Resolution of the Council and Ministers for Health meeting within the Council concerning 
the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts serving sentences for criminal offenses(25), 
have helped to identify the requisite spheres of action. 
60. Activities in this area which could be considered include: 
the development of training of all categories of staff (prison officers, prison 
governors and health workers) taking into account experiences which have already 
been put into practice, including health related problems such as AIDS; 
the development of risk reduction projects in prisons taking into account measures 
which are already implemented in the community; 
actions for certain groups of inmates with specific problems; 
re-enforcement of links between the services available in the community and 
programmes within the prison. 
61. Any activities concerning drug addicts in prison under Article 129 could also be 
complemented by initiatives within the framework of Title VI of the TEU, for example 
regarding the use of penal measures to reinforce motivation for treatment (early release 
conditional on entering a treatment programme). 
(25) Resolution of 11 November 1991 (OJ No C 304, 23.11.1991, p. 7). 
20 
5. Licit substances 
62. As far as alcohol abuse and pharmaceutical products abuse are concerned, there is a need 
to undertake preventive efforts in the fields of information, education and training targeted 
at those at risk and in specific situations such as educational establishments and the 
workplace. In particular, pilot projects aimed at identifying preventive principles and 
methods would be of value. 
63. Council Directive 92/109/EEC*26* on the manufacture and placing on the market of certain 
substances used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances 
contains provisions to ensure that precursor and essential chemicals are not diverted to 
illicit drugs manufacture. The Commission will monitor the correct application of the 
mechanisms foreseen by this Directive. The Commission will propose, if necessary, the 
appropriate actions to ensure that all misuses of licit substances are avoided as far as 
possible. 
6. Data collection 
64. When the European Committee to Combat Drugs (CELAD) began its work on December 
1989, it quickly concluded that the Member States information sources on drugs were 
scattered, heterogenous and contradictory, making it difficult, if not impossible, to form 
a reliable picture of the extent of the drug problem on which common actions carried out 
by the Member Sates and the Community should be based In due course, this led to the 
setting up of the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction*27* which, 
among other in the field of drug prevention, will have the task to collect and analyse 
existing data. The EMCDDA should be able to map out for the Member States and the 
Commission the extent of the drug abuse problem and the structures, trends and 
consequences of drug abuse, while at the same time facilitating the compatibility and 
comparability of medico-social data, the establishment of a Community-wide overview 
of Member States' comparative studies and basic statistics, and the establishment of a 
European network for the collection of health data on drugs and drug addiction. It will 
also be an aid to decision making in the Member States and the Community. The 
EMCDDA and Eurostat will ensure the coordination of the statistical programme of the 
EMCDDA with the existing socio-economic statistical system of the European Union. 
65. The Commission will act in close cooperation with the EMCDDA in order to avoid 
duplication of efforts and to generate mutual added value. Through its participation in the 
managing board of the centre, the Commission will seek to ensure that Community 
priorities and needs are fully taken into account in EMCDDA programmes. Moreover, the 
Commission, on the basis of data collected or generated by the EMCDDA, may take 
(26) OJ No L 370, 19.12.1992, p. 76. 
(27) Council Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 of 8 February 1993 (OJ No L 36, 12.2.1993, p. 1 
and OJ No C 225, 20.8.1993, p. 3). 
21 
appropriate initiatives, pursuant to the Treaties, for the introduction of measures or the 
implementation of actions that have been identified either by the EMCDDA or by the 
Commission as necessary or particularly promising. 
66. In order to support Member States' epidemiological monitoring initiatives the 
Commission, in cooperation with EMCDDA and the Council of Europe, will encourage 
the extension to all Member States of the "Multivilles" (Multi-Cities) study organized 
under the auspices of the Pompidou Group, the aim being in particular to encourage 
technical cooperation between the major European cities. 
67. Organizations in the Member States have developed various management models, based 
on a variety of different philosophies. While it is not part of the Community's remit to 
evaluate these models as such, a coordinated action to identify the different methods 
employed would be of value. A first contribution should be available from the COST 
Social Sciences research collaboration. It has recently set up Action A6 which is a first 
network on the "Evaluation of Action against Drug Abuse in Europe" with working 
groups on "Evaluation of policies, policy changes and societal responses to policies", 
"Evaluation of primary prevention", "Evaluation of treatment", "Development of research 
instruments" and "Drug related delinquency". The Commission will promote in particular 
actions designed to identify the measures employed on the basis of an inventory drawn 
up with Member States. 
7. Formulation and dissemination of research 
68. As stated in the Communication of the Commission on the framework for action in the 
field of public health, Article 129 gives the Community a clear mandate for research in 
the field of disease causation and transmission. The Commission will ensure coherence 
between the drug dependence programme, the work carried out by the EMCDDA and the 
Community's specific programmes of the 4th Framework Programme for research, 
particularly regarding research on biomedicine and health including research on causes 
and toxic effects of drug dependence but also taking into consideration results from the 
new Targeted Socio-Economic Research programme, in particular those arising from 
"Research into social integration and social exclusion in Europe", as well as from the 
COST action A6. 
69. The identification of needs in drug dependence research is an ongoing activity. There is 
a need to ensure dissemination of research results and exchanges of scientific personnel. 
There is also a need to ensure the use of these research findings in policy decisions and 
in prevention strategy. The Commission will in particular encourage Member States to 
involve researchers in any activity concerning the preparation of policies on the 
prevention of drug dependence. 
22 
First programme of Community action on the prevention of drug dependence 
1 Areas of activities 
70. Community action on the prevention of drug dependence must have regard to the 
objectives and means set out in paragraphs 16 to 22 of the present Communication, 
particularly in relation to the visibility and added value of Community action. In addition, 
the limited resources available suggest that the Community should focus on the most 
promising activity areas and to use the most cost-effective instruments. In order to achieve 
these objectives, the Commission proposes that this action programme should concentrate 
on activities in the following areas: 
improving public awareness in particular by means of coordinated transnational 
actions. The previous Community experience highlights the visibility and cost 
effectiveness of actions in this field; 
using the opportunities provided in other Community policies, programmes and 
instruments, when appropriate, to prevent and combat drug dependency especially 
in the areas outlined in paragraph 22 of this Communication and, of course, in 
other health programmes based on Article 129, e.g. AIDS and other communicable 
diseases; health promotion, information, education and training; 
supporting initiatives and actions relating to young people of school-going age in 
relevant environments - home, leisure and school - and the promotion of best 
practices in this regard. In all Member States, young people are considered as the 
primary target group for drug prevention. The diversity of the preventive 
approaches adopted can provide examples of good practice which helps those 
responsible in the field of drug prevention in Member States to learn from 
experiences of each other. Setting as a target the best results already obtained in 
a given area anywhere in the Community, the Commission will support initiatives 
and pilot projects and, as necessary, facilitate cooperation and coordinate activities 
at Community level. 
2. Consultation and Participation 
(a) Advisory body on drug dependence 
71. As regards the implementation of programmes adopted by the European Parliament and 
the Council, by means of decisions pursuant to Article 129, the Commission will be 
proposing the establishment of an Advisory Committee, chaired by the Commission 
comprising representatives of each Member State. The composition of the Committee 
should ensure adequate representation of the interests and expertise of the national 
authorities, the health professionals and the non-governmental organizations in the field. 
23 
(b) Other groups involved 
72. The Commission will examine with the Member States whether or not the setting up of 
national coordination committees for the drug dependence programme would enhance the 
motivation and involvement of the national players. These national committees could be 
a central point of reference for the many different organizations and professions involved 
in this work. 
73. In the past, the non-governmental organizations active in the prevention of drug 
dependence have contributed generously both funds and expertise to the realization of 
Community actions, such as the European Drug Prevention Weeks. In view of the 
instrumental role, in prevention, care and research, played by these organizations the 
Commission will maintain and strengthen its links with them, both through the Advisory 
Committee described above and through direct links in particular with existing networks. 
3. Evaluation and reports 
74. The evaluation and reporting structure of the action plan will comprise two key elements: 
an independent peer review of the major activities supported; 
a report on actions undertaken under the programme, to be submitted to the 
relevant Institutions by the Commission half-way through programme, and a final 
report at the end of the programme. 
In addition, the Commission will ensure that the results of the most significant actions, 
and initiatives are made available to interested parties and the general public. 
24 
ANNEX 
CONCLUSIONS AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE HEALTH 
COUNCIL CONCERNING DRUG DEMAND REDUCTION IN 
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND ALCOHOL ABUSE 
25 
MAIN TEXTS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL 
1. Resolution of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 16 May 1989 concerning a European network of health data on 
drug abuse (OJ No C 185, 22.7.1989, p. 1). 
2. Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 16 May 1989 concerning the reliability of tests on body fluids to 
detect the use of illicit drugs (OJ No C 185, 22.7.1989, p. 2). 
3. Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 16 May 1989 regarding the prevention of AIDS in intravenous drug 
users (OJ No C 185/ 22.7.1989, p. 3). 
4. Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council of 
13 November 1989 on the implementation of coordinated measures for preventing drug 
addiction and coping with drug addicts (OJ No C 31, 9. 2.1990, p. 1). 
5. Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 3 December 1990 on reducing the demand for narcotic and 
psychotropic substances (OJ No C 329, 31.12.1990, p. 20). 
6. Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 4 June 1991 on the monitoring of action to reduce drug demand 
(OJNoC 170, 29.6.1991, p. 2). 
7. Declaration by the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 4 June 1991 on action to combat the use of drugs, including the 
abuse of medicinal products, in sport (OJ No C 170, 29.6.1991, p. 1). 
8. Resolution of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 11 November 1991 on the treatment and rehabilitation of drug 
addicts serving sentences for criminal offenses (OJ No C 304, 23.11.1991, p. 7). 
9. Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the governments of the 
Member States meeting within the Council on a code of conduct against doping in sport 
(OJNoC44, 19.2.1992, p. 1). 
26 
10. Declaration of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 15 May 1992 on European Drug Prevention Week (OJ No C 148, 
12.6.1992, p. 3). 
11. Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 13 November 1992 oa the second report on drug demand reduction 
in the European Community (OJ No C 326, 11.12.1992, p. 3). 
12. Declaration of the Council of 13 December 1993 on European Drug Prevention Week 
(OJ No C 15, 18.1.1994, p. 7). 
13. Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the Governments of the 
Member Stales meeting within the Council of 29 May 1986 on alcohol abuse 
<OÏH©C 184,23719S6, j>. 3) 
2? 
Proposal for a 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DECISION 
adopting a programme of Community action on the prevention 
of drug dependence within the framework for action 
in the field of public health (1995-2000) 
28 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
1. In its Communication of 24 November 1993 on the framework for action in the field of 
public health, the Commission identified drug dependence as a priority for action as it is 
the only threat specifically mentioned in Article 129 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Community. 
2. Drug dependence is a complex phenomenon in terms of its causes and manifestations, and 
the health and social ramifications are many and varied. Although the data supplied by 
the Member States are not directly comparable, those furnished for the second report on 
drug demand reduction in the European Community have revealed disturbing trends such 
as an increase in drug-related mortality and morbidity, in the number of first users of 
drugs and in the number of AIDS cases linked to drug use. The diversity of illicit 
products consumed and the different methods of consumption, the abuse of alcohol and 
pharmaceutical products and the deliberate inhalation of toxic products for abusive 
purposes are all factors which give cause for serious concern, both in the Member States 
and at Community level. 
3. Drug dependence has been a matter of concern to all the Community Institutions. An 
important step towards defining the perspectives for Community activity in this field was 
taken with the adoption by the European Council (Rome 1990) of the European Plan to 
Combat Drugs and its chapter on drug demand reduction. Since 1986, several Council 
resolutions and conclusions relevant to drug demand reduction have called for Community 
actions to be implemented concerning: screening and health data, prevention of AIDS in 
drug addicts; implementation of coordinated prevention measures, exchanges of 
information; rehabilitation of drug addicts serving sentences for criminal offenses, 
production of regular reports on drug demand reduction, and coordination of two 
European Drug Prevention weeks. The European Parliament has also played an important 
role in getting drugs onto the agenda at Community level, by adopting many Resolutions 
on the matter. 
4. The Commission has responded by undertaking various actions and initiatives. 
Furthermore, on a proposal from the Commission the Council adopted a Regulation in 
February 1993 establishing a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 
which is charged with providing the Community and its Member States with objective, 
reliable and a comparable information at European level concerning drugs and drug 
addiction and their consequences. The Centre will therefore have an important role to play 
in the field of drug demand reduction to which it will have to give special attention 
during its first three-year work programme. 
29 
5. The identification of drug dependence in Article 129 means that the Community must 
consolidate its achievements in the field of drug dependence and build on the work 
already carried out. The Commission has already decided in its Communication on the 
framework for action in the field of public health that this would be best achieved by 
means of a specific programme to be launched as part of a strategy involving a mix of 
actions both of those that are general in nature and those that are disease specific. 
6. The present proposal is the first multi-annual programme on drug dependence in the 
framework of public health. Since the Member States have responsibility for the 
prevention of drug dependence, the guiding principle is that it is up to them to define 
appropriate prevention programmes. The Community's role will focus primarily on 
supporting actions undertaken by them, promoting coordination between their policies and 
programmes, ensuring better use is made of Community actions in relation to the 
prevention of drug dependence and promoting cooperation between Member States. 
7. The Commission's role will be to encourage and facilitate exchanges of information, 
experience and models of good practise as well as to support and coordinate, as 
necessary, activities at Community level. The Commission will, in particular, support 
proposals submitted by Member States and initiatives involving organizations and 
agencies active in the field of drug prevention. Cooperation with international 
organizations and transnational associations active in this area will also be fostered. 
8. Collection of data at Community level, projects having a Community interest, networking 
of organizations active in the field of prevention, and support for pilot projects capable 
of being transferred to other Member States are all examples of actions which, when 
implemented at the Community level, can improve the level of knowledge on drug 
dependence and its prevention. The EMCDDA will have a key-role to play in ensuring 
the dissemination of information for this purpose. Such transfers of knowledge and 
practices can assist each Member State and in so doing illustrate the added value of 
Community action. Community action should also help Member States to re-define their 
strategies and implement drug prevention measures and policies more effectively. 
9. In view of the complexity of the drugs phenomenon, policies to combat drug dependency 
must take account of the following: 
activities targeted at high risk groups in specific settings; 
identification, development, testing and use of best practices for disseminating 
information and providing advice to target groups; 
initiatives in the field of education and training in order to develop drug 
prevention strategies; 
work on early detection and counselling of drug users; 
rehabilitation and social reintegration of drug addicts. 
30 
10. In taking account of these elements and the need to ensure a Community added-value, this 
Community action programme will, in view of the limited resources available, focus on: 
(a) improving public awareness in particular by means of coordinated transnational 
actions; 
(b) using the opportunities provided in other Community policies, programmes and 
instruments, when appropriate, to prevent and combat drug dependency; 
(c) supporting initiatives and actions relating to young people of school going age in 
relevant environments - home, leisure and school - and the promotion of best 
practices in this regard. 
11. This programme on the prevention of drug dependence is a component of the European 
Union Action Han to combat drugs, which draws together the various actions initiated 
under the three pillars of the Treaty on European Union, i.e. the Treaty establishing the 
European Community, the common foreign and security policy, and justice and home 
affairs. 
12. This proposal for a Council decision takes account of the requests made by the European 
Parliament and by the Council. It reflects the experience gained by the Commission in 
implementing a number of specific actions on drug dependence. It takes account of the 
principle of subsidiarity and recognizes that the situation varies between Member States. 
It also introduces the appropriate consultation procedures and suitable assessment 
measures &r the activities undertaken. 
31 
Proposal for a 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DECISION 
adopting a programme of Community action on the prevention 
of drug dependence within the framework for action 
in the field of public health (1995-2000) 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 129 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3), 
Whereas drug dependence has grown alarmingly in the Member States and has serious 
implications for the health of individuals and the welfare of the general public; 
Whereas, in creating in 1985 a Committee of Inquiry into the problem of drugs in the Member 
States, the European Parliament demonstrated its desire to study in depth the factors which trigger 
drug demand and enable drugs to continue being produced and distributed; 
Whereas in its resolutions(4) concerning this problem the European Parliament formulated a series 
of proposals with a view, in particular, to Community action on the prevention of drug 
dependence; 
Whereas the European Council, at its meeting in Dublin on 25 and 26 June 1990, stressed that 
it was the responsibility of each Member State to develop an appropriate drug demand reduction 
programme and considered that effective action by each Member State, supported by joint action 
of the Twelve and the Community, should be a main priority over the coming years; 
(1) OJ No 
m OJ No 
(3) OJ No 
(4) OJ No C 172, 2.7.1984, p. 130. 
OJ No C 283, 10.11.1986, p. 79. 
OJNoC47, 27.2.1989, p. 51. 
OJNoC 150, 15.6.1992, p. 42. 
32 
Whereas the actions undertaken at Community level on the basis of the Council resolutions, 
declarations and conclusions relating to the prevention of drug dependence, and in particular 
subsequent to the adoption by the European Council, meeting in Rome on 13 and 14 December 
1990, of the European Plan to Combat Drugs, have helped to sustain the Member States' efforts; 
Whereas these •- ;:ons need to '••:•• ^ continued and consolidated within the framework of the action 
in the field of >lic health s^-. out by the Commission Communication of 24 November 1993(5; 
and must take " tto account; as the Council requested in its resolution of 17 May 1993(6), otite: 
actions undertaken by the Community in the field of public health or which have an impact on 
public health; 
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 302/93(7) established a European Monitoring Centre on 
Drugs and Drug Addiction to provide the Community and its Member States with reliable and 
comparable information concerning drugs and drug addiction; 
Whereas the declaration on the occasion of the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union 
adopted by the European Council, meeting in Brussels on 29 October 1993, emphasized that the 
Treaty provides "a structured institutional framework, so that in particular greater control can be 
achieved over those of society's problems that run across frontiers, such as drugs (...)"; 
Whereas the problems associated with the drugs phenomenon are such that they require a fully 
coordinated and global strategy, as has been stated by the European Council, meeting in Brussels 
on 10 and 11 December 1993; 
Whereas drug dependence, the only scourge expressly mentioned in the provisions of the Treaty 
establishing the European Community dealing with public health, is therefore a priority for 
Community action within the framework for action in the field of public health set out by 
the Commission; 
Whereas this programme forms one of the essential component parts of the Communication from 
the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 23 June 1994 on a European 
Union Action Plan to combat drugs (1995 - 1999)(8); 
Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, actions on matters not under the 
exclusive competence of the Community, such as those on drug dependence, must only be 
undertaken by the Community when, by reason of their scale or effects, their objectives can be 
better achieved by the Community; 
Whereas cooperation with the competent international organizations and with non-member 
countries should be strengthened; 
(5) COM(93) 559 final. 
(6) OJ No C 174, 25.6.1993, p. 1. 
(7) OJNoL36, 12.2.1993, p. 1. 
(8) COM(94) 234 final. 
33 
Whereas a multiannual programme should be launched with clear objectives for Community 
action, and priority actions selected with a view to preventing drug dependence and the associated 
problems, as well as appropriate evaluation mechanisms; 
Whereas the programme should have as its objective to contribute to the enhancement of 
awareness on the use of narcotics and psychotropic substances, on the abuse of alcohol and 
pharmaceutical products, on the misuse of chemical substances or products for drug abuse 
purposes; to contribute to improve recognition of risk situations, early detection, counselling and 
advice, health and social support with a view to preventing drug use, facilitating the end of drug 
use, lowering the mortality rate, reducing the risks of infection by agents of infection and 
reducing marginalization; 
Whereas, from an operational point of view, the investment made in the past in terms of both the 
establishment of Community networks of non-governmental organizations and of the mobilization 
of all those involved in preventing drug dependence should be safeguarded and developed; 
Whereas, however, possible duplication of effort should be avoided by the promotion of 
exchanges of experience and by the joint development of basic information modules for the 
public, for health education and for training members of health professions; 
Whereas, in order to increase the value and impact of the programme, a continuous assessment 
of the measures undertaken should be carried out, with particular regard to their effectiveness and 
the achievement of objectives both at national and Community levels and, where appropriate, to 
make the necessary amendments; 
Whereas this programme should last five years in order to allow sufficient time to carry out the 
actions required to achieve the objectives set, 
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article l 
A Community action programme on the prevention of drug dependence is adopted for a five-year 
period, from to 
Article 2 
1. The programme will involve the following areas of activities: 
(a) improving public awareness, in particular by means of coordinated transnational 
actions; 
(b) using the opportunities provided in other Community policies, programmes and 
instruments, when appropriate, to prevent and combat drug dependency; 
34 
(c) initiatives and actions relating to young people of school going age in relevant 
environments - home, leisure and school - and the promotion of best practices in 
this regard. 
2. The Commission shall ensure implementation of the activities set out in paragraph 1 and 
in the Annex, in accordance with Article 4, and in close cooperation with the Member 
States and the institutions and organizations active in the prevention of drug dependency. 
3. The Commission shall also ensure that the activities undertaken take due account of the 
information activities of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction. 
Article 3 
The budgetary authority shall determine the appropriations available for each financial year. 
Article 4 
For the implementation of the programme the Commission shall be assisted by an advisory 
committee, hereinafter referred to as "the Committee", comprising two representatives from each 
Member State and chaired by a Commission representative. 
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft set of the measures 
to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the 
chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote. 
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right 
to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the Committee. It 
shall inform the Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account. 
Article 5 
1. In the course of the implementation of the programme, cooperation with non-member 
countries, and with international organizations active in the field of public health, will be 
encouraged. 
2. The EFT A countries and the countries from Central and Eastern Europe may be 
associated with the activities under the programme under the conditions set out in the 
agreements concluded with the Community. 
3. The Commission shall cooperate with the Council of Europe's Pompidou Group. It shall 
inter alia strengthen its regular contacts with international intergovernmental organizations 
such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific 
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Office (ILO) and the 
United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP). 
35 
Article 6 
1. The Commission shall regularly publish information on the actions undertaken in the 
context of this programme. 
2. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and 
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions a mid-term report on the actions 
undertaken, as well as an overall report at the end of the programme. 
Article 7 
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Communities. 
Done at Brussels, 
For the European Parliament For the Council 
The President The President 
36 
ANNEX 
Programme activities: 
(a) improving public awareness in particular by means of coordinated transnational 
actions. Activities under this heading might model on the European Drug Prevention 
Week, particularly relevant to highlight and stimulate Community and transnational efforts 
and on previous coordinated transnational actions. 
(b) using opportunities provided in other Community policies, programmes and 
instruments, when appropriate, to prevent and combat drug dependency. This could 
be relevant in areas such as the social affairs, particularly concerning migrants, poverty, 
employment, protection of workers' health and safety and the structural Funds including 
Community initiatives; the single market and consumer policy, particularly as regard drug 
precursors, pharmaceutical and medicinal products and dangerous substances and 
preparations; education and training; activities in the field of culture, communication and 
information; research and health systems, on addiction behaviour as described in the 
Commission proposal for a specific RTD programme and in the area of biomedicine and 
health (1994 -1998) and, of course, other programmes based on Article 129, e.g. AIDS 
and other communicable diseases, health promotion, information, education and training. 
(c) initiatives and actions relating to young people in school-going age in relevant 
environments - home, leisure and school - and the promotion of best practices in this 
regard. Young people are considered as the primary target group for the purpose of drug 
prevention. The diversity of the preventive approaches adopted can provide examples of 
good practices which help those responsible in the field of drug prevention in Member 
States to learn from experiences of each other. A specific support in particular to the 
dissemination of information and advice directed towards young people in relevant 
environments - home, leisure, school - is therefore likely to be of most value. 
37 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
1. Title of operation 
Health aspects of drug abuse: first Community action programme in the field of drug 
dependence 
2. Budget heading involved 
B3-4303 (formerly B3-440), in part; chapter B3-40 in part. 
3. Legal bases 
Resolution of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 16 May 1989 concerning a European network of health data on 
drug abuse (OJ No C 185, 22.7.1989, p. 1). 
Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 16 May 1989 concerning the reliability of tests on body fluids to 
detect the use of illicit drugs (OJ No C 185, 22.7.1989, p. 2). 
Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council of 
13 November 1989 on the implementation of coordinated measures for preventing drug 
addiction and coping with drug addicts (OJ No C 31, 9.2.1990, p. 1). 
Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council of 
3 December 1990 on reducing the demand for narcotic and psychotropic substances 
(OJ No C 329, 31.12.1990, p. 20). 
Conclusions of the European Council of 14 and 15 December 1990 on the European plan 
to combat drugs. 
Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 4 June 1991 on the monitoring of action to reduce drug demand 
(OJNoC 170, 29.6.1991, p. 2). 
Resolution of the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council of 
11 November 1991 on the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts serving sentences 
for criminal offences (OJ No C 304, 23.11.1991, p. 7). 
Declaration of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 15 May 1992 on European Drug Prevention Week (OJ No C 148, 
12.6.1992, p. 3). 
38 
Conclusions of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting 
within the Council of 13 November 1992 on the second report on drug demand reduction 
in the European Community (OJ No C 326, 11.12.1992, p. 3). 
Council communication concerning the framework for action in the field of public health 
(COM(93) 559 final). 
Declaration of the Council of 13.12.1993 on European Drug Prevention Week 
(OJNoC 15, 18.1.1994, p. 7). 
Articles 3(0) and 129 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. 
4. Description of operation 
4.1 General objective 
Community action programme to prevent drug dependence, inter alia, with a view 
to implementing earlier conclusions and resolutions of the Health Council in 
accordance with the broad lines of the European Plan to combat drugs. 
The present programme seeks to encourage cooperation between the Member 
States, to provide backup for them and to promote coordination of their policies 
and programmes with a view to preventing the use of narcotics and psychotropic 
substances, the misuse of alcohol and pharmaceutical products, and the diversion 
of chemical products for drugs purposes. 
Intermediary objectives: reduced mortality, reduced risk, particularly of infection 
by the AIDS virus or other infectious agents, reduced social marginalization. 
Ways and means of achieving this objective: Stimulating Member States to 
develop their own resources for preventing drug addiction, to develop prevention 
strategies and intra-Community cooperation, more particularly by providing 
support for coordinated transnational actions to improve public awareness; by 
using opportunities provided by other Community policies and by actions focused 
on a specific target group in relevant environments: young people of school-going 
age. 
4.2 Period covered and arrangements for renewal or extension 
Five years. Arrangements for renewal or extension not yet made; these will be the 
subject of a Commission proposal. 
39 
5. Classification of expenditure or revenue 
Non-compulsory expenditure; differentiated appropriations. 
6. Type of expenditure or revenue 
100% subsidy: Yes, in exceptional cases, for studies, provision-of-services 
contracts, and for work ordered and of direct use to the Commission. 
Subsidy for joint financing with other sources in the public and/or private sector: 
the most frequent option (rarely amounting to more than 70% of the total value 
of the proposed projects). 
7. Financial impact 
7.1 Method of calculating total cost of operation: see point 7.2 
7.2 Itemized breakdown of cost 
Reminder: 
Appropriations authorized 1994 - B3 - 440 
Commitment Payment 
4.8(1) 216 
Indicative breakdown in million ECU: This purely indicative breakdown is without prejudice 
to the amounts which will actually be assigned by the budgetary authority for each of the 
years under consideration. The breakdown by field of activity is given purely for guidance. 
The indicative amounts for the successive years of implementation will be decided on in the 
framework of subsequent preliminary draft budgets(2). 
(i) 
(2) Includes ECU 3.3 million for the health aspect of drug abuse. 
The increase envisaged in the budget will be accommodated from within chapter heading B3-40. 
40 
FIELD OF 
ACTIVITY 
1. Coordinated transnational 
actions to improve public 
awareness 
2. Initiatives and actions 
relating to young people of 
school-going age in relevant 
environments 
TOTAL 1994 
Budget 
33 1995 
PDB 
Indicative 
breakdown 
1.5 
2 
3.5 YEAR | 
1996 1997 1998 1999 TOTAL 
1995-
1999 
Indicative planning 
5.5 6 6.5 7 28.5 
7.3 Indicative schedule of appropriations 
Commitment 
appropriations 
Payment 
appropriations 
1995 
1996 
1997 
1998 
1999 
Subsequent years 
TOTAL 1995 
3.5 
1.75 
1.23 
0.52 
3.5 1996 
5.5 
2.75 
1.93 
0.82 
5.5 1997 
6 
3.00 
2.10 
0.90 
6 1998 
6.5 
3.25 
2.27 
0.98 
6.5 1999 
7 
3.50 
3.50 
7 TOTAL 
28.5 
1.75 
3.98 
5.45 
6.17 
6.67 
4.48 
28.5 
8. Fraud prevention measures; Results of measures taken 
One-off checks on contractors to monitor the use of appropriations, and the precise 
arrangements for such use. Checks have already been carried out in respect of budget 
years 1991, 1992 and 1993, and have proved to be effective. 
41 
9. Elements of cost-effectiveness analysis 
9.1 Specific and quantified objectives; target population 
The measures are designed to implement the "prevention of drug addiction" 
aspect of Commission policy as announced in the Commission's 
communication on the framework for action in the field of public health 
(COM(93) 559). On the basis of past experience and the available statistics, 
a number of operational objectives have been pinpointed: prevention, 
rehabilitation, information, education and training, with the emphasis in this 
programme being placed on measures concerned with: 
better information on the drug addiction phenomenon: general public 
and the target groups; 
identification of risk situations and early detection: the family and the 
social environment; risk groups; 
guidance and counselling: socio-health professionals; 
health and social care: socio-health professionals, working 
environment, target groups, e.g. drug addicts in prison. 
Owing to the limited resources available, it has been necessary to identify 
among the abovementioned fields those where a Community initiative would 
produce the most added value and the highest visibility. Three areas have 
been identified on these criteria. These are: 
improving public awareness in particular by means of coordinated 
transnational actions; 
using opportunities provided by other Community policies, 
programmes and instruments, when appropriate, to combat drug 
dependency; 
supporting initiatives and actions relating to young people of school-
going age in relevant environments - home, leisure, school - and the 
promotion of best practices in this regard. 
9.2 Grounds for the operation 
Drug dependence is the only health danger which is specifically mentioned in 
Article 129 of the Treaty on European Union, and is thus automatically a 
priority Community public health concern. The scale and importance of this 
multi-faceted phenomenon and the problems encountered by the Member 
States in tackling the serious social and individual repercussions of drug 
42 
addiction have generated a series of initiatives at Community level over recent 
years. The wide range of initiatives taken by the Council and the European 
Parliament shows that they too attach particular importance to this problem, 
and that they feel that action at Community level is essential. This is backed 
up by Article 129, which says that drug dependence should be a priority area 
for Community action. 
Rational utilization of the available budgetary resources based on: 
(a) concrete application of the principle of subsidiarity in terms of 
identifying areas of activity for Community initiatives, the nature of 
those initiatives and the measures which should be taken and given 
joint funding; 
(b) the concept of Community added value, which will continue to take 
the form of coordination of national measures, dissemination of 
information and experience, designation of priorities, extension of 
European networks, selection of European projects, and motivation and 
mobilisation of all interested parties. 
The programme will be implemented primarily by the provision of support for 
projects in the Member States. The selection of priority projects will be based 
very largely on the general and intermediate objectives, and the 
implementation of the measures themselves will depend on the quality and 
reliability of projects submitted during the year to the department responsible. 
The project selection criteria are: 
compatibility with the objectives and conformity with at least one of 
the specified objectives; 
examination of the Community added value of the project 
(e.g. transnational participation, development of a model which is 
applicable in other Member States, information usable in other 
Member States, etc.); 
anticipated effectiveness and return on investment; 
clarity and justification of needs; 
target population or population reached by the project; 
appropriateness of working methods; 
skill and experience of the organizer; 
match of budgetary resources to objectives; 
43 
support from national partners; 
objective evaluation arrangements. 
9.3 Monitoring and evaluation of the operation 
There will be monitoring arrangements (a) at Community level, by the 
relevant Commission departments, (b) at national level, by the national 
coordination committees (where the Member States opt for the creation of 
such committees), by the ministries responsible for drug addiction prevention, 
by the NGOs and by persons responsible for the implementation and running 
of specific projects. 
Evaluation will take the form of: 
an independent evaluation of the main measures and studies receiving 
funds; 
a general report by the Commission to the Council, the European 
Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee 
of the Regions on measures taken under the programme, to be made 
at the halfway stage and on completion of the programme. 
The performance indicators selected for the evaluation exercise are: 
results and conclusions of the meetings of experts; 
analysis of the proceedings of symposia, and of the list of participants; 
estimate of the target population actually reached, and any media spin­
offs; 
evaluation of the projects by Commission officials and/or co-workers; 
analysis of interim reports on planned and funded measures, with a 
view, where appropriate, to redirecting the thrust of such measures; 
impact studies carried out by external organizations; 
appropriateness of the working methods used by the organizers; 
appropriate match of budget resources to objectives; 
clarity of initial objectives; 
skills and experience of organizers; 
dissemination of results. 
44 
As we are concerned here with public health measures whose effects can only 
be measured over the long term, it will more important to evaluate the process 
than the actual impact. 
Details and frequency of planned evaluations: 
interim and final reports on the various measures taken; 
development of a "standard" evaluation form to be submitted by the 
beneficiaries with their final reports, the forms to be checked by 
officials (either at the Commission or on the spot). 
9.4 Coherence with financial programming 
Is the operation included in the DG's financial programming for the relevant 
years? Yes. 
10. Administrative expenditure (Part A of the budget) 
Staff assigned exclusively to the operation. In addition to existing staff, there will be 
a need for two A-grade officials, one B-grade official and the equivalent of one and 
a half C-grade officials, bearing in mind the results of the 1995 budgetary procedure 
and the Commission's decision on the allocation of appropriations. 
Staff appropriation needs: 
Estimated at approximately ECU 333 000 in 1995 (titles Al, A2 and A5). 
For the launch and implementation of this new action programme, the following 
meetings and missions are planned for 1995: 
Meetings 
2 meetings of the national coordinators 
(2x24x658 = 31584) 32 000 
6 meetings of experts 
(6 x 12 x 658 = 47 376) 47 000 
conferences and seminars for presenting the new programme 
(2 x 48 x 658 = 63 168) 63 000 
Total meetings: ECU 142 000 
45 
Missions 
Luxembourg - Brussels (5 missions per month) 
(60 x 200 = 12 000) 12 000 
Other missions (Member States) 
(25 x 1 000 = 25 000) 25 000 
Total missions: ECU 37 000 
46 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(94) 223 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 05 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-94-238-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-69531-5 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
1^2985 Luxembourg 
47