EMCDDA. Policy and practice briefings: Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers

Europe has a long history of migration and the diversity of its ethnicities and religions creates complex links between ethnicity and drug use. More recently, following a high level of conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, more than 1.4 million people applied for asylum in the European Union in the last half of 2015 and the first half of 2016. Over half of the asylum seekers to the European Union in 2015 (53 %) were young adults (18–34 years), the age group most likely to use substances in Europe. Some lessons may be drawn from past research on migrants to Europe but must be viewed with caution because of cultural differences and reasons for migration.

Many migrants have lower rates of substance use than their host communities, but some may be more vulnerable to substance misuse for reasons such as trauma, unemployment and poverty, loss of family and social support, and the move to a normatively lenient setting. Drugs may be used to cope with trauma, boredom, uncertainty and frustration around immigration status. Vulnerability may be aggravated by poor knowledge about and access to treatment services. (EMCDDA, Lissabon, November 2017)

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/best-practice/briefings/migrants-refugees-and-asylum-seekers_en