Cocaine: Emergency room visits jump 26% in one year

Cocaine use is placing an increasing burden on the French hospital system. According to a report by Public Health France published on June 8, 2026, emergency room visits related to this drug increased by 26% in one year, now exceeding 6.500 recorded cases. The health authority emphasizes that cocaine remains the second most widely used illicit substance in the world after cannabis. In France, 10% of adults report having used it at least once in their lives, while 3% admit to having used it in the past year.

Admissions have tripled since 2012

This sharp increase is part of a broader trend: since 2012, the rate of emergency room visits related to cocaine has simply tripled. After a period of relative stabilization, hospital admissions have resumed their upward trend, reflecting the growing entrenchment of this drug in consumption habits. A study by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) conducted last December revealed an unprecedented shift: for the first time since 2010, cocaine has overtaken cannabis in terms of revenue, reaching €3,1 billion compared to €2,7 billion for cannabis.

Public Health France's data is based on monitoring of emergency room visits and requests to the Drugs Info Service hotline. Health authorities are raising the alarm about this trend, which is straining an already overstretched healthcare system. The increase in cocaine-related admissions reflects the growing normalization of its use and a rapidly expanding market in France.