Heroin shortage could lead to more potent synthetic opioids

Report said the United Nations Office in Drugs and Crime published research this year estimating the production of opium, from which heroin in manufactured, fell by a colossal 95% in 2023. Picture: Getty

Ireland and other EU countries are being warned to prepare for a future heroin shortage and to have a plan in place if the market is filled by far more potent synthetic opioids.

The EU drugs agency also said cocaine seizures have reached record levels — for the sixth year in a row — and EU seizures now exceed those made in the US, historically regarded as the world’s largest cocaine market.