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Contents

Drug use among the general population and young people
Socio-demographic overview
Prevention
Problem drug use
Treatment demand
Drug-related infectious diseases
Drug-related deaths
Treatment responses
Harm reduction responses
Drug markets and drug-related offences
National drug laws
National drug strategy
Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs

     
Short info
Country situation summary (CSS)
A Country situation summary (CSS) is a concise, standard-format overview (4-5 pages) of the drug situation in a specific European country. Based on a single template for all countries, Country situation summaries provide an at-a-glance overview of key recent developments in a country's drug situation. They are updated each year by the EMCDDA's national focal points. Note that detailed analytical reports (approx 100 pages) are also available for each country, see national Reports.
   
National focal point in Lithuania

Since 2004, the NFP in Lithuania is situated within the newly established Drug Control Department. The main responsibilities of the Department include the implementation of national drug Programme, as well as information gathering and dissemination. The department operates directly under the leadership of the Prime Minister and is responsible for relations with international organizations, including the EMCDDA.

Ministry of Health-Drug Control Department under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
Sv. Stepono str. 27
LT-03210 Vilnius
Tel: +370 5 213 8188
Fax: +370 5 215 9096
Head of Focal point: Mr Ernestas Jasaitis
Email: ernestas.jasaitis[a]nkd.lt

E-mail addresses have been inserted in a way discouraging spam. Please replace [a] by @ before actually using any of the e-mail addresses. 		Further reading
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Country situation summary

  Lithuania


 

Year

 Lithuania 

EU (25 countries)

Source

Population

 2005 3.425.300 461.478.700 

Eurostat

GDP per capita in PPS

(Purchasing Power Standards) (1)

 2005 52.1 100

Eurostat

Inequality of income distribution (2)

 2003 4.5 4.6 (s)

Eurostat

Unemployment rate

2005 8.3% 8.8%

Eurostat

Prison population rate
(per 100.000 of national population)

 2004 234 Range in the EU including Norway (26 countries) based on data from 2003-2005: 50-339

Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics
(s) Eurostat estimate.
(1) Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure for the economic activity. It is defined as the value of all goods and services produced less the value of any goods or services used in their creation. The volume index of GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) is expressed in relation to the European Union (EU25) average set to equal 100. If the index of a country is higher than 100, this country's level of GDP per head is higher than the EU average and vice versa.
(2) The ratio of total income received by the 20 % of the population with the highest income (top quintile) to that received by the 20 % of the population with the lowest income (lowest quintile). Income must be understood as equivalised disposable income.

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Drug use among the general population and young people

The first national general population survey on drug use in Lithuania was carried out in 2004. The survey was carried out in the line with the EMCDDA guidelines, and was conducted among persons aged 15–64. According to the results, 8.2% of respondents reported lifetime experience with any illegal drug. Lifetime use of cannabis was reported by 7.6%. Similar to many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, lifetime experience with illegal drugs increased significantly during the 1990s, as shown by the ESPAD surveys conducted in 1995 and 1999. Except for lifetime prevalence rates of inhalants use and use of tranquillisers/sedatives without medical prescription, the experimentation with illegal drugs increased among students in Lithuania between 1995 and 1999. However, the data from the ESPAD survey conducted in 2003, show that this trend is slowing down. Lifetime experience for any illegal drug other than marijuana/hashish among students aged 15–16 years old increased from 2% in 1995 to 9% in 1999, but decreased to 7% in 2003. Cannabis is the most frequently illicit drug experimented with among this age group, with 13% having used cannabis at least once during their lifetime in 2003 (12% in 1999 and 1% in 1995). With regard to amphetamines and ecstasy the trend was reversed for ecstasy use. While lifetime prevalence rates for amphetamines increased to 5% in 2003 (2% in 1999, 0% in 1995), lifetime experience with ecstasy decreased to 2% in 2003 (4% in 1999, 0% in 1995).

The largest at-risk group in Lithuania is urban youths between the ages 15 and 25 that equate consumption with relaxation. A study applying the ESPAD methodology among students attending vocational schools in Vilnius in 2001 showed that among different subpopulations of young people lifetime prevalence rates for illicit drugs by far exceeded the rates of the 1999 national school survey. The study conducted among 801 students ages 15–29 years old showed that lifetime experience with marijuana was reported by 32.2%, followed by amphetamines (11.5%) and smoking heroin (10.6%).


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Socio-demographic overview


Year Lithuania   EU Source

Unemployment rate of population aged less than 25 years

 2004 19.9%

18.6% 

Eurostat

Percentage of the population aged 20-24 having completed at least upper secondary education

 2004 86.1%

86.1% (p)

Eurostat

Children aged 0-17 living in jobless households (1)

 2004 6.55 

9.8% (p)

Eurostat
(p) Provisional value;.
(1)  The indicator Children aged 0-17 years living in jobless households is calculated as a share of persons aged 0-17 who are living in households where no one is working.

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Prevention

The importance of drug prevention in Lithuania was reflected by the endorsement of a “National programme on drug control and prevention of drug addiction 2004–2008”. The strategic aim of the Programme is to stop and reduce the spread of drug addiction, to establish and implement the main guidelines and activity directions of the state policy in the field of drug addiction prevention and drug control, and to increase the efficiency of drug use prevention in Lithuania. One of key tasks of the Programme is to form a negative attitude of the public at large towards the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, in particular to ensure drug prevention in the family, among children and young people, and to help children and young people develop valuable principles of a healthy life. The implementation of school-based prevention programmes is also a priority.

In 2004, the government placed more attention for prevention among high-risk children and families with identified problems. Specific training for professionals in the area was organised and more support was given to NGOs and day centres working with youngsters.

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Problem drug use (*)

No data available.

(*) The EMCDDA defines problem drug use as intravenous drug use (IDU) or long duration/regular drug use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines. Ecstasy and cannabis are not included in this category.

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Treatment demand

In Lithuania the data collection system for treatment demand is under development. The available data collected by the State Mental Health Centre from all outpatient health care institutions indicate that the number of persons seeking help for drug abuse has increased by over 8 times since 1991. In 2004, among all treated drug users, 79.7% reported the use of opiates, 3.3% the use of volatile substances, 2.45% the use of stimulants and 0.55% of cannabis. First treatment demands increased in 2004 to 12.2% instead of 10.3% in 2003. Most of the demands for treatment were related to opiates, representing 80% of all first treatment demands, while 91% of people seeking for a first treatment were injecting drug users. In terms of all treatment seekers, the majority of individuals were registered in Vilnius (46% of all individuals registered) and the biggest proportion were persons aged 25–34 years (40%). Among first treatment demand, the biggest proportion were persons aged 20–24.

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Drug-related infectious diseases

In Lithuania, HIV prevalence rates among subgroups of IDUs increased to more than 1% in 1997 but remained consistently below 5% until 2001. Data from a needle exchange programme situated in Vilnius from 2003 showed that less than 1% of tested IDUs were infected with HIV. Nevertheless, the predominant way of the spread of HIV infection in Lithuania is through the use of intravenous drugs. Rates of newly-diagnosed HIV among IDUs peaked in 2001. In 2004, the users of intravenous drugs comprised 74.8% of newly diagnosed HIV cases, compared to 75.5% in 2003.

In Lithuania regional Public Health Centres, and Centres for Emergency Health (n= 54) send aggregated data on HBV and HCV infection from each territory to the National Centre for Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control (CCDPC). In 2004, the CCDPC registered 187 persons with acute viral hepatitis B. Among notified cases with known transmission route, 15.5% were IDUs in 2004 (42.4% in 2001). For acute HCV infections, 22.9% (of all notified cases where transmission route was known) were IDUs (compared to 43% in 2002).

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Drug-related deaths

Data on drug-related deaths are submitted by the General Mortality Register of the Statistics Department of the Republic of Lithuania. These are lethal cases when a direct cause of deaths recorded in the death certificate is due to the use of narcotic and psychotropic substances. The data from the registry are available as drug-related deaths standards, a standard protocol for extracting data on drug-related deaths from registers in the Member States of the European Union (which includes acute deaths directly related to drug consumption or overdoses). In 2004, 38 direct drug-related deaths were recorded, while in 2003 this number was 40. In addition to the data from the general mortality register, the State Mental Health Centre records deaths among drug users who were registered with health care institutions. In 2004, the number of deaths among drug addicts registered in healthcare institutions amounted to 39 (33 men, 6 women).These data are however not linked with the General Mortality Register.


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Treatment responses

In Lithuania, treatment of addictions is provided under the auspices of the mental healthcare system and of licensed institutions. Outpatient treatment is available at primary healthcare institutions, at the 65 centres for mental health, at the psychiatric consulting rooms at primary healthcare centres, and through private medical institutions that have obtained a special licence.

In addition, outpatient and inpatient treatment for adult clients is provided by five specialised centres for dependence diseases in five major cities in the country, two of which provide treatment for juvenile drug users (under 18 years). Rehabilitation is available through a small number of residential therapeutic communities with a total of about 200 beds. Usually drug addicts must pay for their treatment in the rehabilitation communities and specialised centres. The price for treatment for a duration of one month ranges from 85-200 euros. Daycare treatment is available in a few cities with individual and group counselling, social skills training and family therapy. ^

Substitution treatment with methadone was legalised in Lithuania in 1995 and treatment started up in three cities in 1996. By the end of 2004, substitution treatment with methadone was available in 5 cities with 436 patients in treatment at the beginning of 2005. In 2001, a decentralisation process had started in Vilnius, which increased the accessibility of methadone treatment in the city to  6 primary healthcare centres and one specialised centre.

Buprenorphine treatment is available since late 2002 throughout the specialised public services and private treatment centres for withdrawal treatment.

Clients data are collected from 74 treatments centres out of 268 which have a licence to provide treatment to drug addicts, and reported to the State Mental Health Centre.The Centre for Addictive Disorders in Vilnius runs since 1995 a national registry which contains the names of clients in methadone substitution treatment.

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Harm reduction responses

In 1997, the Vilnius Centre for Dependence Diseases, in co-operation with the Open Society Fund in Lithuania were the first to commence a low threshold programmes for injecting drug users. By 2004, low threshold programmes offering needle-exchange, information on behavioural consequences and treatment options operated in 7 cities in Lithuania. Since 2001, a mobile outreach needle/syringe exchange point implemented by the Vilnius Centre for Addictive Disorders started to reach the largest places where drug users gather. Injecting drug users may exchange needles and syringes, obtain condoms, disinfectant tissues, bandages, educational-informational materials, as well as a short consultation by a social worker and information about the availability of health care and social assistance. In 2004 the mobile unit reached 2825 injecting drug users, more than any other needle exchange programme in Lithuania. In Klaipeda, the third largest city in Lithuania and the principle seaport of the country with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, two drop-in rooms are run by the Klaipeda Center for Dependence Disorders  which reach a big proportion of IDU’s out of treatment.

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Drug markets and drug-related offences

Lithuania is located on the Silk route on which heroin is smuggled from central Asian states through Russia, the Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States. In terms of seizures made by law enforcement agencies, there has been a far greater increase in heroin seizures in Lithuania than in other countries in the region (except for Estonia).

The number of crimes related to illicit drug trafficking has increased by 400% since 1992, which is influenced by the fact that harsher laws were adopted in May 2003. According to the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the majority of drug-related crimes concerned the illegal production, acquisition, possession, transportation and dealing with illegal drugs. The greatest number of drug-related crime has been registered in the capital city Vilnius ( 27% of all drug related crimes). The data also show that the number of juveniles who committed criminal offences related to illegal trafficking of drugs increased in recent years.

In 2004, the amount of heroin withdrawn from illicit traffic increased  compared to 2003 but was lower than in 2001 (high peak). It is assumed that heroin smuggled into Lithuania could only for a short period decrease the demand of local concentrates of poppies (home made poppy product) and their parts due to a decrease in purity of imported heroin. Seizures of synthetic drugs have increased in recent years. Since 1997, illegal laboratories producing methaphetamines, amphetamines and ecstasy have been discovered by the police (1 in 2004,  4 in 2003). Due to easy access to precursors from the neighbouring country Belarus conditions for illegal productions are in place. Illegal Synthetic drugs are mainly trafficked to Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Marijuana and hashish seizures also increased in 2003 compared to previous years. Both local cannabis and cannabis mostly of Dutch origin can be found on the illegal market in Lithuania. The drug is increasingly becoming popular among young people (see ESPAD results and population survey results).

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National drug laws

Since May 2003, a new Penal code entered into force, under which possession of even a small amount of illicit drugs with no intent to distribute them became a criminal offence, when previously it was an administrative offence. Under the new legislation, possession, acquisition and production of illicit drugs can be sentenced to up to 2 years' imprisonment or arrest, but without imprisonment if the offence is judged to be a misdemeanour. Traffickers may be sentenced for 5-8 years, which rises to up to 10 and then 15 years depending on the quantities involved and aggravating circumstances (e.g. involvement of minors or an organised group).

The EMCDDA' s online database of information on European drugs-related legislation, the European Legal Database on Drugs (ELDD), provides further information, including detailed profiles of each country's drug legislation.

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National drug strategy

During the last three years, Lithuania has been formulating the country’s drug policy in compliance with international requirements and norms in terms of drug control and drug prevention with assistance from the UN organisations, the WHO, EUROPOL, EMCDDA, Northern Dimension, the EU Phare program, the EC Pompidou Group and other bilateral support. The National Drug Strategy is based on the “National drug prevention and drug control strategy for 2004–2008” and the “National programme on drug control and the prevention of drug addiction 2004–2008”. These documents are the main strategic programmes for drug control and addiction policy in Lithuania for the coming years.

The main objectives of the country’s drug policy strategy are: a drug-free society to the extent that this is possible; prevention of drug abuse among young people; drug supply reduction; care of drug addicts; international multilateral, bilateral and inter-institutional co-operation in the field of drug demand and drug supply reduction; and emphasis on the development of co-ordination systems at the local and national level. Linked to its objectives the Programme contained a list of measures concerning drug demand reduction, drug supply reduction, drug use monitoring, information, coordination, and international cooperation.

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Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs

The Drug Control Department under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania was set up and started its activities on 1 January 2004. The most important tasks of the Drug Control Department are: to implement drug prevention and drug control policy, after identifying the principal directions of the implementation of the policy; to organise implementation of drug prevention and drug control measures; and to coordinate other activities of the state and municipal institutions and organisations in the sphere of drug prevention and drug control.

In 2004, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania formed a permanent Drug Addiction Prevention Commission consisting of 11 parliamentarians. Objectives of the Commission are to safeguard the interests of the government and to provide favourable conditions for the implementation of the national drug policy.

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