Users increasingly use Internet to buy drugs: EU report

Virtually any kind of illegal drug can be bought on the Internet and delivered by post to users who no longer need to make direct contact with dealers, an EU study published on Thursday said.

It gave no statistics on online drug sales, which are normally conducted on so-called "darknets", or anonymous computer networks.

The report, compiled by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol, the pan-European police agency, said increased globalisation and communication technology made it harder to track drug routes.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said ministers from the 27 member states would study the report for possible policy changes and action across the European Union.

"We need to keep pace with these new developments and adapt our policies and responses to this reality," Malmstrom said. "National measures, however robust, will simply not be sufficient if implemented in isolation."

The European Union is an increasingly important producer of synthetic drugs and cannabis, with mobile production units making it easy for synthetic drugs to be concealed during manufacturing.

"As with synthetic drugs, there has been a trend towards producing the drug near to its intended consumers," Goetz said. "This will be a growing trend in the future."

The report estimated 2,500 tonnes of cannabis are consumed each year in the European Union and Norway, with a retail value of 18-30 billion euros.