37% of respondents from Malta in a Flash Eurobarometer conducted in September 2024 and published last month believe that the use of illicit drugs is a very serious problem in their local area, and 30% indicated that they believe drug trafficking in their local area is a very serious problem.

Furthermore, 20% and 22% said that illicit drug use and drug trafficking in their local area is a somewhat serious problem respectively.

503 interviews were conducted with respondents from Malta for the Eurobarometer, and there were a total of 25,680 interviews from throughout the European Union.

The percentage of respondents from Malta who believe that drugs and drug trafficking are a problem in their local area is noticeably higher than the percentage from the EU respondents, where 18% of EU respondents replied that illicit drug use is a very serious problem, and 21% replied that it is a somewhat serious problem. Concerning the issue of drug trafficking in their local area, 22% of EU respondents said that it is a very serious problem, and 19% said that it is a somewhat serious problem.

Of the respondents from Malta who indicated that illicit drugs are a problem in their local area, 60% said that traffic accidents related to drug use or combined alcohol and drug use are a problem, 77% said that there are mental health problems and stigma related to drug use, 68% said there is a problem of drugs being highly available and accessible, 55% said there is a problem of children and teenagers taking drugs, and 56% said there is a problem of poverty and unemployment related to drug use.

Replying to the same questions, 63% of EU respondents who indicated that illicit drugs are a problem in their local area also believe that traffic accidents related to drug use or combined alcohol and drug use are a problem. 62% of these EU respondents said that there are mental health problems and stigma related to drug use as well as drugs being highly available and accessible. 60% said that there is a problem of children and teenagers taking drugs, and 50% said there is a problem of poverty and unemployment related to drug use.

Of the Malta respondents who replied that they believe the trafficking of drugs in their local area is a problem, 56% said that there is a problem of children and teenagers being involved in drug trafficking. 34% said that there is a problem with drug traffickers using violence and intimidation in their local areas.

The survey also found that 37% of Malta respondents believe drug use is one of the causes of youth crime in their local area, with another 22% saying that it is the most important cause. Comparing this to EU respondents, 49% said that it is one of the causes of youth crime in their local area, with 12% saying it is the most important cause.

Asked if they believe that drug use is one of the causes of violent crime and murder in their local area, 46% of Malta respondents said that it is, with an additional 13% saying that it is the most important cause. 39% of EU respondents said that it is one of the causes, with another 12% saying it is the most important cause.

On the matter of having access to illicit drugs, the Eurobarometer asked respondents how difficult they believe it would be for the respondent to personally obtain certain substances within 24 hours.

Asked about the difficulty of obtaining cocaine, 24% of Malta respondents said it would be very easy, 12% said it would be fairly easy, 14% said it would be fairly difficult, and 35% said it would be very difficult, with the remaining 16% replying that they do not know or would prefer not to answer.

Asked the same question, but this time regarding synthetic opioids such as fentanyl or nitazenes, 19% of Malta respondents said it would be very easy, 3% fairly easy, 15% fairly difficult, and 54% very difficult. 9% of Malta respondents said they do not know or would prefer not to answer.

Respondents were also asked to state what they believe are the most pressing public health issues related to drug use in their local area.

The top 3 responses in this regard from EU respondents were mental health issues at 48%, long-term health conditions at 29%, and strain on emergency medical services at 28%. For each of these responses, Malta respondents came in at 59%, 11%, and 25% respectively.

Respondents were asked what they think are the most effective ways for public authorities to reduce problems posed by drug trafficking and drug use.

The top five responses from EU respondents were tough measures against drug traffickers at 43%, education and prevention interventions at 41%, dismantling criminal networks involved in drug trafficking at 35%, offering sport, entertainment and cultural activities for young people at 32%, and treatment as well as rehabilitation programmes for drug users at 26%.

For each of those responses, Malta respondents came in at 22%, 40%, 30%, 13%, and 43% respectively.