Psychoactive drugs

Data that BIRN has obtained show that while only three cases of indoor cannabis cultivation were recorded during 2021, the number of cases rose to 18 by May this year.

BIRN asked police for data over the last five years, but they did not have records for before 2021.

How much do Bulgarians know about alcohol?

Here are six curious facts about the nation's alcohol culture.

Nearly 11 percent of Bulgarians surveyed believe that it is permissible to give children small amounts of alcohol to learn to drink responsibly when they grow up

Illicit tobacco products and cigarette trade and their consumption have been on the rise in Turkey, costing the state billions of Turkish Liras in tax revenues.

It is estimated that the size of illicit tobacco products accounts for more than 20 percent of all trade volume in this industry.

Trade in the amphetamine-type stimulant captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said.

Research by the New Lines Institute, to be released Tuesday and seen by AFP, paints an alarming picture of the impact booming captagon production is having on the region.

Oral nicotine pouches or lozenges, a novel flavoured nicotine product, are gaining popularity. This substance fills the space between the cheek and the gum. They don't have tobacco in them, but they do have nicotine, flavourings, sweeteners, and plant fibres. 

Head of Montenegro's Customs Office, Milena Petricevic, at the press conference. Photo: Montenegro's Customs Office

On Wednesday, police arrested a customs officer, Dejan Dabanovic, and Mimo Perocevic, owner of a private truck company, suspected of smuggling 11,349 boxes of cigarettes out of the port.

“At the same time, it seems that cannabis use has a periodicity, ie it increases in winter and decreases in the summer months”

More than 500 kilograms of cocaine have been seized on a Turkish-flagged fishing boat off the coast of Guinea and 10 people have been detained in connection with the drug smuggling, the Turkish Directorate General of Security has announced.

The average age of drug usage has decreased to as low as 16 in Turkey, a study that sheds light on how first-time drug users develop the habit has shown.

Four men believed to be members of a drug distribution crew have been charged in the overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams five months ago, authorities said on Feb. 2.