Crack cocaine has also increased in presence with the report stating that communities in Malta of high-risk drug use have registered a rise.

It was further noted that the crack cocaine community in Malta is more marginalised than that of powdered cocaine.

Moreover, cocaine isn’t the only narcotic with a registered increase on the island: synthetic opioids and ketamine are also on the rise.

“Some focal points reported an increase in the (mostly unintentional) use of synthetic opioids, especially of nitazenes, such as by FPs in Glasgow, Malta, Newport and Tallinn. These reports are in line with recent media reports or alerts about this issue.”

The focal points (FP) of each city or state gathered information through focus groups, in Malta’s case, the FP was Harm Reduction Malta.

On the other hand, the presence of heroin on the island is on the decline.

The Maltese focus group further mentioned cathinones which are mostly indicated by synonyms like bath salts or salts.

The study also states that the increased availability of drugs in certain cities and countries, including Malta, can partially be explained by the growing use of social media “for this purpose”.

An important point raised by the Maltese focal point is the huge need of drug checking services, due to this lack, the quality of drugs on the market is self-reported and unknown.

Calvin Klein (slang for the combined use of cocaine and ketamine), was mentioned by FGDs in Malta and Dublin. The combination is used to “Counteract a k-hole or comedown of ketamine by rubbing cocaine into the gums. Very popular in young cohorts and at festivals and nightclubs.”

Candy flipping (slang for the combined use of MDMA and LSD), was mentioned by the Maltese focus group discussion.

“New information we received is that candy flipping is constantly used; it is the same mixing of ecstasy and LSD, and it has become popular recently among young people.”

Have you been affected by these drug trends in Malta?