EUDA. Highly potent synthetic opioids: new EUDA threat assessment report outlines risks and response options for Europe - International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

EUDA. Highly potent synthetic opioids: new EUDA threat assessment report outlines risks and response options for Europe - International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
Today, on International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) publishes a new threat assessment report examining how highly potent synthetic opioids (HPSOs) could affect Europe over the next two years and what this could mean for public health and security preparedness.
The report — Assessment of the threat posed by highly potent synthetic opioids in Europe — focuses on two scenarios: the rapid emergence of new HPSOs, with exposure largely confined to illicit opioid markets, and their rapid emergence in products sold as non-opioids, potentially extending risks beyond existing opioid-using populations. The scenarios are not predictions of what will happen, but preparedness tools to examine how risks could evolve and what this would mean for response. The assessment, a product of the EUDA Threat Assessment System (ETAS) (1), draws on structured expert input, laboratory findings, clinical and forensic information and drug-checking and law-enforcement seizure data across Europe.
While heroin remains Europe’s most commonly used illicit opioid and continues to account for a large share of opioid-related harms, the report expresses ‘high concern’ over HPSOs due to their extreme potency and the speed with which harms can emerge in local markets. Even very small quantities of HPSOs can cause severe poisoning, and the appearance of these substances in fake medicines, or in products sold as other drugs, can expose people who did not intend to use opioids to greater health risks. International experience, particularly from North America, demonstrates how patterns of harm associated with HPSOs can change rapidly, underscoring the importance of maintaining preparedness and vigilance in Europe. (EUDA, Lissabon, 26.06.2026)
https://www.euda.europa.eu/news/2026/highly-potent-synthetic-opioids-new-euda-threat-assessment-report-outlines-risks-and-response-options-europe_en