Drug Abuse in Bologna, Italy

Bologna is one of the “youngest” cities of Italy, a favorite destination every year for thousands of students, even foreign ones, who attend one of the largest universities in the country. It makes an important contribution to the economic activity of the city. But precisely because of the presence of so many young people, Bologna and its territory are also an ideal market for drugs, usually coming from Spain, Holland and the region of South-Eastern Europe. The area around the University is notorious for the trafficking of marijuana and hashish, and the pushers—mostly foreigners—often compete for control over the area. An example is just from last year, with numerous arrests by law enforcement agents, who defeated a criminal group, mainly North African individuals, seizing more than 300 kilos of hashish, directed from Spain just to Bologna, the capital of the region of Emilia Romagna.

Bologna Drug statistics

An official study conducted on 4,809 people of the metropolitan area of Bologna in 2009 reported that 65.6% of the individuals had used opiates, 24% had used cocaine and 9.4% cannabinoids; 11.8% of them had also used alcohol and 23% multiple substances. Heroin is still the most-used drug, although the number of its consumers is falling alongside the number of cocaine users, but among both heroin and cocaine consumers, the study found an increasing number of people who smoke or sniff the drugs.

A survey of 15-year-old students in 2010 showed that 9% of this population also used cannabis, and 69% use alcohol. There was no opiate use among this group.

In 2009, among all the people admitted in the hospitals of the city for drug-related problems, the drugs traditionally considered “heavy” (28.4% heroin and 13% cocaine) were not the only substances responsible for the admissions, but psychoactive drugs (12%) and cannabis (3.6%) had to be added to the list as well.

Bologna also has much higher-than-average levels of amphetamine passing through the area. In 2014, 16 kg of this drug were seized, with only Bolzano and Imperia having higher numbers.

What Narconon can Do for Bologna

About an hour and a half drive south of Bologna, there are two Narconon drug rehab centers, Narconon Astore and Narconon Alfiere, are ready to take care of anyone who needs it. For more information, visit the page of our Narconon centers in Italy.