Substance dependence

A man aged between 40 and 45 years old fell to his death from the fourth floor of a homeless shelter in central Athens on Friday morning.

Authorities said they suspect that the homeless man, who was not named, killed himself. Homelessness has been on the rise during the crisis. It is estimated there are some 30,000 homeless people in Greece.

Regional police increase action against illegal drugs, trafficking

BELGRADE - The Serbian government has adopted a decree on the establishment of an office for combating drugs.

The office will coordinate work of state bodies, prepare regulations, national strategies and action plans for the fight against drugs.

By Alexandra Giannidi

Six years into a deep recession that has seen Greece slash its healthcare budget and society come under great pressure, those working at KETHEA, one of the country's biggest drug therapy networks, are being forced to deal with the fallout.

Officials from the Family and Social Policies Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry have held a meeting in an effort to unite their forces to combat drugs, including a cheap synthetic drug called ”Bonzai,” the use of which has been rapidly spreading in recent years.

The number of drug addicts living on the streets of the capital has doubled since the beginning of the country’s economic crisis, according to research by the Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals (KETHEA).

Of the addicts approached by members of KETHEA’s street team, 44.4 percent said they were homeless, up from 35.2 percent last year and 24.5 percent in 2010.

Macedonia's Network of NGOs Against Discrimination - which includes the Macedonian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights - on Tuesday condemned the establishment of an "Institute of Family Studies" at the country's main university.

Drug use in Bulgaria is gradually increasing, according to data from the annual statistics of the National Focal Point on Drugs and Drug Addictions.

The quantities of confiscated heroin have drastically declined in recent years, however cocaine use among Bulgarians is on the rise, the survey shows.