The supply of hashish to Europe
Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy (CNRS-Prodig)
Background paper
commissioned by the EMCDDA
for the 2016 EU Drug Markets Report
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
Lisbon: EMCDDA
April 2016
About the paper:
Estimates of hashish production have many potential weaknesses and obtaining data on origin of supplies encountered in Europe is equally challenging. This paper critically reviews the available data in order to shed further light on what is happening with respect to the production of cannabis resin and its impact on the supply to Europe.
The paper concludes that despite the paucity of data on both hashish production in Afghanistan, in Lebanon and in Morocco, and on the primary sources of the hashish consumed with the European Union, it appears that Moroccan hashish production has been underreported in the UNODC World Drug Reports. Also, it seems that mentions of resins sourced in Afghanistan and Lebanon are not corroborated by the availability of these products within the European Union.
In the end, the most pertinent question might not be where the hashish consumed in Europe comes from but if and when the European market will develop an import substitution scheme by way of local extractions. Europe’s future consuming market may well be one of locally produced organic, adulterant-free, highly potent herbal cannabis, resins extractions and other concentrates.
