The Danish government is planning a comprehensive crackdown on the use and sale of opioids in Denmark, according to Berlingske.
The plan includes a ban on eight synthetic opioids, increased drug policing, tougher penalties for sales, and the development of more addiction and harm treatments.
The move comes after growing indications that opioids such as oxycondone and tramadol have become more prevalent on the Danish drug market.
Minister of Health Sophie Løhde told Berlingske that, especially amongst young people, opioid pills are becoming more and more widespread.
“Many people think that you can take the pills without any problems, but they are highly addictive and deadly, and you run a colossal risk by starting to experiment with them,” she said.
In April, an assessment from the country’s three forensic departments stated that opioids are the most dangerous group of drugs in Denmark.
It emphasised that the compounds are powerful and addictive, comparing them to drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.
In February, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard announced tougher penalties and stronger policing of opioids would be introduced, after 600,000 illegal pills – most of which were opioids – were seized at the border crossing to Frøslev.
The Ministry of Taxation followed with an announcement that customs officials are finding more opioids at the border crossings than ever before.
At the time, Hummelgaard said he was “nervous that we are standing at the foot of a mountain which could develop into an actual opioid crisis in Denmark”.
The number of deaths due to suspected opioid poisoning in recent years has been around 124 to 134 per year, making up half of all drug-related deaths in Denmark.
