Cocaine use almost doubles in France

The number of cocaine users in France has almost doubled to 1.1 million, as employees are increasingly using the drug to cope with workplace related pressures, according to a report revealed by the French government on January 15th, the RFI reported.

The increase in consumption has placed France at seventh among European nations for cocaine use, the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT) said.

According to OFDTs deputy director, Ivana Obradovic, “the evolution of working conditions” has led to people using cocaine on the job.

While the price of a gram of cocaine in France has remained relatively stable increasing only from 60 euros to 66 euros per gram between 2011 and 2023- the drug’s purity has skyrocketed. It is now testing at 73% purity compared to only 46% in 2011.

French police seized approximately 23.5 tonnes of cocaine in 2023, marking an increase from the 4.1 tonnes seized in 2010.

READ: UN warns of Iraq becoming a major “drug conduit” in region

Despite these findings, the report said cannabis continues to remain France’s most used illegal drug, with five million reported users in 2023.

Obradovic also said: “Young adults have shown the highest increases in experimentation and yearly usage.”

The illegal drug trade in France makes between 3.5 and six billion euros per annum. A recent OFDT study calculated the social cost, which includes deaths, lowered quality of life and public finance impact – at 7.7 billion euros.

The report highlighted how changing attitudes may have contributed to the spread of cocaine usage, as people are more familiar with the drug and regard it as less dangerous than they did twenty years ago.

RFI, Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends