An action plan for synthetic opioids - The Zurich approach

The opioid market in Europe has shown itself to be extremely resilient to external factors in the past years. Neither the closure of potential smuggling routes, nor increased border controls and severely restricted travel in the context of the global pandemic, nor the dramatic developments in North America have had a measurable effect on the supply and composition of illegally trafficked heroin. 

After the total amount of opium poppy cultivated in Afghanistan - the world's largest producer of opium - increased steadily until 2022, there are increasing signs that there will be a substantial reduction in production from the 2023 harvest onwards. Due to this massive reduction in opium production and the high availability of synthetic opioids, which can be produced much more cheaply and are easier to smuggle, various expert reports highlight the increased risk of more heroin laced with synthetic opioids appearing on the black market in the near future.

However, this threatening scenario also represents a historically unique opportunity for countries and cities. While the various stakeholders are usually reactive to changes in the drug market, for once there is an opportunity to prepare preventively for a possible scenario.

The presentation highlights the efforts of the city of Zurich to prepare for this major threat to public health and presents the resulting action plan, which the Drug Information Center (DIZ) has developed together with experts from a wide range of fields.