Information, monitoring and research
The nature, extent and consequences of drug use do not remain static - they are as dynamic as society itself. Drugs require a sophisticated approach to information collection. These data are also useful in view of the evaluation of the policies put in place by EU countries. Research is also vital: we need to know more about how drugs can affect us, what treatment methods work, or how drug trafficking can be detected and intercepted. The European Union is committed to promoting such research, through the EU's research programmes.
The EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2012 identifies information, research and evaluation as key elements of EU drug policy to achieve a better understanding of the drugs problem.
Information
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is the EU's reference point on drugs and provides the EU with objective, reliable and comparable data at a European level.
The EMCCDA has developed common key indicators for EU data on:
- the extent and pattern of drug use in the general population;
- the prevalence of problem drug use;
- the demand for treatment by drug users;
- the number of drug-related deaths and the mortality of drug users;
- the rates of drug-related infectious diseases (HIV, hepatitis, etc.).
The data collected from the EMCDDA's national focal points in the EU countries is presented annually in the EMCDDA's The State of the Drugs Problem in the European Union.
European Opinion Poll on Drugs
The European Commission carries out regular public opinions surveys - Eurobarometer - focusing on youth and drugs: in 2002 
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, in 2004 [801 KB] and in 2008 [6 MB] .
A new public opinion survey will be available in June 2011.
Evaluation
The EU Action Plan 2009-2012 provides for a continuous evaluation of its measures by the European Commission, with the support of the EMCDDA and Europol. Assessment tools and indicators have been introduced for each action for this purpose.
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Full text: EU Action plan 2009-2012
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The European Commission presents an annual progress report on the implementation of the EU Drugs Action Plans.
The European Commission's Final Evaluation of the EU Drugs Action Plan 2005-2008 assesses progress to implement measures since 2005 and identifies future challenges to be addressed by the EU Drugs Action Plan 2009-2012.
The European Commission first report of the EU Drugs Action Plan 2009-2012 concludes that, while the EU has made progress to curb drug use and target drugs trafficking in the EU, joint efforts need to be stepped up to address the rise in the number of cocaine-related deaths, the increase in new "legal highs" and the swift changes in cross-border drug trafficking routes.
Research
Research plays an important role to underpin evidence-based drug policies and develop the necessary policy responses to reduce the adverse health and social impacts of drug use in our societies.
In 2009 the Council and the Commission, with the support of the EMCDDA, developed an EU strategic framework in the field of drugs-related research, which draws on the following findings:
- Commission study A Comparative Analysis of Research in the field of Illicit Drugs in the EU [13 MB] which reviews the state of play of drug-related research in the 27 EU countries, July 2009;
- Commission paper on Strengthening EU research capacity on Illicit Drugs [81 KB] , November 2009;
- A conference hosted by the European Commission on "Bridging the Research Gap in the Field of Illicit Drugs in the EU", 24-25 September 2009 [101 KB] .