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A mixture of various perspectives (from the police and European Monitoring Agency to a user`s and NGO`s viewpoints) were given at ECAD organized conference in Riga to explain the popularity of new psychoactive substances in the Baltic Sea region. ECAD thanks Riga Stradins University for the smooth cooperation and advanced conference premises.
Chemically produced synthetic cannabinoid mixes under a generic name of Spice are widely known in Latvia as well as in Sweden, Estonia, Russia and Lithuania. These new psychoactive substances are not controlled by the UN Conventions and European law enforcement agencies had to fight with wind mills for almost a decade, chasing small dealers. At the same time, drug experts are warning about the unknown pharmacology and toxicology of the products starting the end of 2000-ies until today.
Many synthetic cannabinoid mixes were nothing new but unsuccessful pharmacological probes, taken in order to study certain receptors in the brain: CB1 and CB2, which are very important for chemical research, according to Rita Jorge, EMCDDA scientific analyst (Download conference presentation - UPDATED).
Already in 2009, EMCDDA listed Latvia along with the UK (biggest share, 42%), Romania and Ireland, as having the highest number of the online retailers selling spice mixtures. These substances became new to the retail market in Latvia, but were actually for sale in European webshops since 2007- 2008 and were strikingly cheap.
As its notorious popularity grew, numerous trading points got opened in Riga and its suburbs, selling small packages of mixes labelled “Spice”, “Yucatan Fire” etc., bearing no legal responsibility for the items that were available for anyone because of the low prices. Anyone, from young teenagers with no family support, coming from an orphanage, to well-off youngsters from the most prestigious high schools, could be the user. Students were selling to their peers at schools and person-to-person techniques proved to be more “efficient” for spread rather than selling via the webshops. On the top of that, aggressive marketing techniques were used, advertising intentionally misleading and mislabelled products (no mark of synthetic compounds in the ingredients of the packages).
The combination of these factors made synthetic cannabinoids popular and it reached the acme in Riga in the middle of 2013.
Estonian colleagues registered first spice intoxications in 2009 but were never really troubled by it to any notable extent. In Sweden, 2014 saw the occurrence of over 300 overdoses attributed to Spice (according to the data published by the Institute for Security and Development Policy).
In 2013, Riga had 59 officially registered small stores dealing with spice and its impact on the market was huge, the vast majority of the clients were underage, shared Andrejs Aronovs, 
Riga Municipal police Vice Chief, with the conference (picture). The practice of cooperating with the civil society, using You-Tube accounts and radio programmes to launch a warning campaign for the young, was a truly successful combination, admitted both the Police and Riga City Council representatives. Finally, rapid amendments in the criminal law system resulted in closing the Spice shops. After 6 months of counteracting, new administrative fines were introduced for very small amounts of synthetic mixes for consumption; while selling, dealing, producing and consuming in larger quantities turned into criminal offences overnight (on April 8, 2014).
Riga Municipal police Vice Chief, with the conference (picture). The practice of cooperating with the civil society, using You-Tube accounts and radio programmes to launch a warning campaign for the young, was a truly successful combination, admitted both the Police and Riga City Council representatives. Finally, rapid amendments in the criminal law system resulted in closing the Spice shops. After 6 months of counteracting, new administrative fines were introduced for very small amounts of synthetic mixes for consumption; while selling, dealing, producing and consuming in larger quantities turned into criminal offences overnight (on April 8, 2014).Riga City Council Executive Director Juris Radzevics underlined the capacity of every society to draw its own drug policy. The Spice issue for Latvian citizens became a catalyst for change, sharpening prevention techniques as the issue of Spice-related intoxications and fatal outcomes for the young shocked Latvians and the society responded acutely.
The case of society mobilization in front of an epidemic of fatal drug intoxications in Latvia proved to be a classic case for applying risk and protection factors in prevention, said Anders Eriksson, one of the community prevention experts invited to the conference (Download conference presentation).
A striking user`s perspective was provided by Martin Dahlander, now free from Spice and other drugs for 696 days at the conference time. The near-to-death effects of Spice intoxication, the length of the “afterglow” and the types of synthetic cannabinoid mixtures one could buy using the dark web, were of special value for the EMCDDA`s scientific analyst present. After 11 years with Spice, the importance of a helping hand (CRIS; a powerful NGO assisting former addicts to return to a sober and crime-free life) and of someone who was totally dependent on Martin, was difficult to underestimate.
Latvian NGOs (www.StopDrugs.lv) admitted that it was mostly important to identify the dealers, but also to stand against the normalisation of drug use, as it seemed that everyone was using the mixes. In fact, one in six 15-16 year olds actually experimented, that made up to 5 users in each school class of 25-30 persons. One fact in common for all of the dealers was a defying demeanour, being outrageously shameless in order to smart out the law system. In that case, meeting the loathsome behaviour of the teenagers, many social workers chose to act out on the non-violent resistance parenting principles (to watch, to reflect, to support and to encourage), shared Inga Dreimane, the head of the Youth Centre “Pardaugava” (Download conference presentation).
Even if Latvian officials announce the “Spice-case” closed for the time being, the media and NGOs (www.StopDrugs.lv) still confirm the problem exists today. ECAD conclusion is that synthetic mixes need continuous monitoring in the neighbouring countries (Sweden, Norway) as it has become a legislative challenge for the drug policies in the countries of the region. Also Swedish Spice market needs to be examined for that purpose, and the project partners look forward to study visits and a conference in Stockholm to discover it this fall.
Conference Presentation materials:
"Understanding the "spice" phenomenon" (UPDATED!) Rita Jorge, Scienttific Analyst, EMCDDA, Action on New Drugs Sector, Supply reduction and new drugs unit
"Prevention in Riga, how does it work?" Vivita Kikule, Head of public Health Promotion and Prevention Unit, Riga City Council, Welfare Department
"An effective prevention: Stockholm city perspective and experience" Anders Eriksson, Prevention Specialist, Prevention Centre Stockholm, Sweden
"Space up your life; what happened in Riga in 2013-2015" Inga Dreimane, Prevention Specialist, Head of Structural Unit "Pardaugava"
"What can parents do to prevent drug and alcohol debuts?" Jörgen Larsson, Idependent Prevention Expert
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ECAD participates in a 2-year long EU project (TRIPLE R) on the exchange of the best practice in the field of recovery between EU member states. The project aims at reducing recidivism and crime in regard to drug addiction and spreading the cost effective and productive models on drug Rehabilitation, social Reintegration and Reinsertion of the drug addicts.
The project is run by San Patrignano Community, world`s largest therapeutic community for full recovery, which has been a partner for ECAD for many years.
4 well-known international rehabilitation communities are involved in the project and this winter and spring all project partners will participate in 3 study visits and 2 workshops, implying mutual learning and best practice exchange. The project has a pilot phase to be implemented later in Croatia, involving 3 different NGOs helping drug addicts.
The first study visit was made to the city of Ghent in Belgium on February 1-4, 2016, in order to investigate a unique practice of drug court`s in action. The visit was hosted by a Belgian NGO Popov GGZ, a consultation platform on mental health, including addiction.
We were welcome in Ghent City Hall and met the city Drug Policy Coordinator, Mr Filip De Sager, Provincial Drug Policy Coordinator, Mr. Bert Mostien and the heart of the Ghent Drug Court system, its liaison coordinator Mr. Alphonse Franssen (the three gentelmen pictured closer below from left to right).
The unique concept of Ghent Drug Court system is allowing a treatment to take place before any sentence or a verdict has been stated and a crime registered. The attitude of a judge at a Drug Court is thus strict but highly motivating, approving of a personal achievement and not moralizing about an addict. Also, crimes involving the use of alcohol are a matter of drug courts.
The system has been in use for 7-8 years in East Flanders and implies efficient local communication between the drug court and treatment facilities, performed by liaison officers. The region of East Flanders has 5800 beds for outpatient treatment and 3200 beds for inpatient treatment to avail for the system. As in other Drug Court models, all prosecuted are supposed to follow the urine testing procedure every 2 weeks. The judge emphasizes the gruesomeness of the sentence if the treatment fails, which is an impetus to motivation for the treatment.
East Flanders with its 4 million inhabitants has 4 emergency centres and 5 crisis centres to offer for 300 people annually. There are 3 therapeutic communities in the area of Ghent and 5 in the whole country. The beds are often subsidized by Belgian federal government; also, 15% of the drug treatment subsidies come from the provincial government.
East Flanders uses an Integrated Treatment System, which became an evolution within the drug policy since 1998. The ITS consists of a complete set of care and treatment programmes for illicit drug users, guaranteeing customized care and its continuity, organized in a network. The therapeutic ideologies within the treatment programmes had to give way for solving concrete problems of the clients, which led to respect, shared vision and investigation of services available to make the treatment effective.
The city of Ghent applies a bottom-up approach to the drug policy, when the work priorities are chosen by the stakeholders of the local Drug Policy Steering Committee. The Committee consists of the police representatives, drug prevention sector of the city, NGO Popov GGZ, field workers, a mayor of Ghent and 3 deputies.
East Flanders uses an Integrated Treatment System, which became an evolution within the drug policy since 1998. The ITS consists of a complete set of care and treatment programmes for illicit drug users, guaranteeing customized care and its continuity, organized in a network. The therapeutic ideologies within the treatment programmes had to give way for solving concrete problems of the clients, which led to respect, shared vision and investigation of services available to make the treatment effective.
The city of Ghent applies a bottom-up approach to the drug policy, when the work priorities are chosen by the stakeholders of the local Drug Policy Steering Committee. The Committee consists of the police representatives, drug prevention sector of the city, NGO Popov GGZ, field workers, a mayor of Ghent and 3 deputies. Also, Ghent city seeks for a solution-oriented approach, activating drug users and stressing the importance of a correct alcohol policy. These important features however do not necessarily define that a recovered drug user is substance-free.
Addiction care has efficiently become a matter of case management, a scientific basis for breaking the boundaries between often stiff drug policy agencies. This model was born out of concern for better service in crisis and emergency situations (to link clients to the right services), when continuity and support are extremely important. Case managers establish a contact with the clients, assessing their strengths and weaknesses and connecting the court system to the treatment services.
The first encounter with local drug policy coordinators revealed differences in the definition of “recovery” for the partners of the project, meaning a sustainability of condition of a drug user, prioritizing housing for the homeless users for our Belgian partners.
(Ghent City Hall)
Flemish Ministry of Health set Recovery as a main strategy, but that was not about sobriety or control. Recovery in Belgium is about establishing a fulfilling, meaningful life. The point of case management is also keeping people in treatment, helping them indirectly to stay sober and to sustain recovery.
(Ghent City Hall)
Flemish Ministry of Health set Recovery as a main strategy, but that was not about sobriety or control. Recovery in Belgium is about establishing a fulfilling, meaningful life. The point of case management is also keeping people in treatment, helping them indirectly to stay sober and to sustain recovery.
Our study visit framework involved visiting a number of treatment facilities, from a Crisis Intervention Centre De Sleutel, to the low-threshold Opstap centre, a Municipal Outreach Department for highly marginalized drug users. The range of treatment services is varied and is fully verified by the local data for demand for treatment. And the treatment demands in 2013 were mostly related to cannabis (33,5%) and opioids (30,6%), less to cocaine (15,6%).
A common definition of recovery is crucial for the project and for the dissemination of the best practices that implies a substance-free full recovery from drug addiction. There is a small discrepancy to take into consideration if we are to deliver the best project outputs.
The model of case management within the drug court system in Ghent is empirical and innovative with a scientific base from Ghent University.
ECAD looks forward to publishing and introducing a manual on the Ghent Drug Court system in English (and Italian, probably in some other languages) to national and international stakeholders of our network of the member cities.
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The Conference is a part of the Legal High Baltic Alert, a project initiated by ECAD at the end of 2015. The grounds were continuous alarming reports from our colleagues in the Baltic countries and in Belarus, and also the latest EMCDDA report (2015), which revealed the highest substance mortality rates in the region in Estonia, Sweden and Latvia (compared to other EU countries). That had in many cases to do with the unknown synthetic mixes.
This trend clearly undermines security and social welfare of each city in the region. We have pulled together a smart group of prevention specialists, policemen, EMCDDA scientific analyst, NGO activists, a forensic expert, a drug and media analyst and recovered Spice users to begin with. Join us for a fruiteful discussion in Riga, we will also come out with a report afterwards.
The Conference will take place at Anninmuizas bulvaris 26A, Riga Stradina University, from 9.00. a.m. untill 3.30.p.m.
Download the Conference Programme (PDF)
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ECAD Secretary General Erik Leijonmarck will be moderating.
Criminal Justice system plays an integral role in drug use prevention by protecting public safety, reducing the availability of drugs and discouraging use in the population. It can also be a powerful vehicle to promote recovery by leveraging its sentencing authority to promote treatment, healing and overall recovery of individuals, families and communities dealing with drug use.
Speakers:
Caroline Cooper, research Professor and Director, Justice Programs Office, School of Public Affairs, American University
Valérie Lebaux, Chief, Justice Section, Division for Operations, UNODC
Ali Reunanen, Lecturer and former addict, clean and crime-free for 21 years
Torbjörn Brekke, Specialist Director, Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services
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The project, Baltic Spice Alert, was born out of acute concerns raised by many professionals in Riga, Tallinn and Stockholm about the recent experimentation trend with synthetic cannabinoids (Spice mixes) among younger teenagers. The trend had had lethal outcomes in many cases among 14-15 year olds in the Baltic Sea region and beyond.
Also, the latest EMCDDA report (2015) reveals highest substance mortality rates in the region in Estonia, Sweden and Latvia (compared to other EU countries), which had in many cases to do with the unknown synthetic mixes. This trend clearly undermines security and social welfare of each city in the region.
ECAD is now forming a "core group" for the project, consisting of social workers, police and rehabilitation specialists, school coordinators, political actors, NGO representatives and students in the countries concerned.
Please contact us for participation at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the email subject "Baltic Spice Alert".
We aim at improving institutional collaboration between the countries and the professionals concerned in order to reduce the use of Spices and to improve the health and social aspects of life in the cities. This can spin out to thematic cooperation between our partners and/or become a bigger project in the long run.
The first conference/seminar will take place at the end of January 2016 in Riga.
Welcome to join!
Subcategories
The ECAD Mayors' Conference
ECAD's activities from year to year culminate in the annual ECAD Mayors Conference, hosted by a distinct ECAD member city every summer. Councillors and other politicians and policymakers convene with academics and civil society organizations to participate in seminars and study visits, discussing the latest developments in drug prevention efforts throughout Europe.
MAYORS` CONFERENCE 2017
ECAD 24th Mayors` Conference materials
On June 12-13, the city of Kaunas hosted ECAD 24th Annual Mayors`s Conference 2017
Safe Cities Without Drugs. Preventing, Protecting, Policing
Key-note speakers:
David W. Spencer, Field intelligence Manager, Drug Enforcement Agency, European Region
Supply reduction and dismantling drug trafficking organizations: In what ways can local communities benefit (PDF)
Kim Nilvall, Swedish National Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence section, Organized crime
Police work in socially disadvantaged areas in Sweden: Impact of drugs on urban crime (PDF)
Torsten Stodiek, Deputy Head, Strategic Police Matters Unit, Community Policing Advisor, Transnational Threats Department, OSCE
Preventing terrorism and countering violent extremism and radicalisation that lead to terrorism:
A community and intelligence led policing approach (PDF)
Jon Sigfusson, Director for Icelandic Centre of Social Research and Analysis, Reykjavik University, ICSRA
Youth in Europe and Planet Youth (PDF)
Laimonas Vasiliauskas, Senior Specialist, Serious and Organized Crime Department, EUROPOL
European Illicit Drug Market (PDF)
Antonio Boscini, Health Director, San Patrignano Community, Rimini, Italy
Recovery and social reinsertion: San Patrignano Community model extended (PDF)
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME (PDF)
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT (PDF)
Conference Booking Form
Kaunas Castle
Picture: @Rokas Tenys
Warm welcome to Kaunas, Lithuania!
MAYORS` CONFERENCE 2017
ECAD 24th Mayors` Conference materials
On June 12-13, the city of Kaunas hosted ECAD 24th Annual Mayors`s Conference 2017
Safe Cities Without Drugs. Preventing, Protecting, Policing
Key-note speakers:
David W. Spencer, Field intelligence Manager, Drug Enforcement Agency, European Region
Supply reduction and dismantling drug trafficking organizations: In what ways can local communities benefit (PDF)
Kim Nilvall, Swedish National Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence section, Organized crime
Police work in socially disadvantaged areas in Sweden: Impact of drugs on urban crime (PDF)
Torsten Stodiek, Deputy Head, Strategic Police Matters Unit, Community Policing Advisor, Transnational Threats Department, OSCE
Preventing terrorism and countering violent extremism and radicalisation that lead to terrorism:
A community and intelligence led policing approach (PDF)
Jon Sigfusson, Director for Icelandic Centre of Social Research and Analysis, Reykjavik University, ICSRA
Youth in Europe and Planet Youth (PDF)
Laimonas Vasiliauskas, Senior Specialist, Serious and Organized Crime Department, EUROPOL
European Illicit Drug Market (PDF)
Antonio Boscini, Health Director, San Patrignano Community, Rimini, Italy
Recovery and social reinsertion: San Patrignano Community model extended (PDF)
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME (PDF)
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT (PDF)
Conference Booking Form
Kaunas Castle
Picture: @Rokas Tenys
Warm welcome to Kaunas, Lithuania!
Newsletters
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Mission Statement
Official ECAD mission statements in six different European languages.
Resolution
The ECAD Resolution, crafted at a conference to increase cooperation between cities, provides inspiration and hope for areas with particularly difficult drug problems. The signatories to the resolution will affirm their decision to fight against the spread of drugs.