Cocaine in Barcelona's wastewater has tripled in one year, but Lleida leads the national ranking

In just one year, the amount of cocaine detected in Barcelona's wastewater has practically tripled, according to the latest study by the European Union Agency for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EUDA). During 2025, the presence of this substance in Barcelona's wastewater was 185% higher than in 2024, thus returning almost to 2017 levels after several years of decline. However, Lleida ranks higher than Barcelona in absolute terms, after Tarragona, which until now led that ranking in the StateTarragona, in addition to being the leading city in Spain, had traditionally been the second European urban center with the most cocaine in its wastewater, second only to the Flemish city of Antwerp, home to one of Europe's main cocaine entry ports. However, the Catalan city has decided to withdraw from the project. Furthermore, Antwerp no longer leads this ranking; that position has been taken by Middlesbrough in northern England. The second city in Europe is Bristol, followed by Lleida, the leading city in Spain. In fact, the capital of the Segrià region is surprising because, unlike the two previous cases, it lacks a port. Nevertheless, Lleida has more cocaine in its wastewater than Antwerp, Granada, or Barcelona, ​​which ranks fourteenth. The data is published by the EUDA agency, but the study is conducted by the SCORE network of research centers using voluntary data from 115 European cities in 25 countries (23 EU members, plus Norway and Turkey). With the aim of tracking drug use patterns among residents, researchers analyzed daily wastewater samples from the catchment areas of wastewater treatment plants over a one-week period between March and May 2025. In a statement, Lorraine Nolan, EUDA's executive director, highlighted that the data from Europe tells the story of a widespread, diverse, and constantly evolving drug phenomenon. Ketamine on the rise

This year's report highlights the increase in ketamine in European city wastewater, which has risen by almost 41% between 2024 and 2025. Of the 66 cities with data for both years, 40 have seen an increase in this substance in the last year. The highest concentrations have been detected in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, although two locations in the United Kingdom top the ranking. In contrast to the surge in cocaine and ketamine, MDMA has seen a 16% decrease in the last year. This trend is particularly pronounced in countries like Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, and represents a steeper decline than that recorded in 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions shut down nightlife. Despite this decrease, Spain remains among the countries with the highest MDMA concentrations on the continent.