INTRODUCTION: Quality Standards (QS) are an important priority in European drug policy, although the extent of their application remains unclear. The FENIQS-EU project (Further ENhancing the Implementation of Quality Standards in drug demand reduction across Europe) was set up to foster the use of QS. The objective of this paper is to present the main findings of the first 18 months of this project. METHODS: A multi-method study design was used to assess the application of QS. It consisted of: 1) an online survey and brief interviews with key stakeholders in various areas of drug demand reduction across Europe; 2) the development of criteria and selection of examples of inspiring practices; 3) a Delphi study to reach consensus around successful QS implementation strategies. RESULTS: QS have been implemented in the prevention domain, with the European Drug Prevention Quality Standards being the most commonly implemented standards. In the treatment/social reintegration domain, national standards and the Standards and Goals of Therapeutic Communities are most commonly used, while the EU Council conclusions on the implementation of minimum quality standards are primarily applied in the field of harm reduction. In total, 14 inspiring examples of practice were selected. Three rounds of a Delphi study resulted in consensus on successful implementation strategies, covering five core themes: collaboration, communication, support structure, education, and funding. DISCUSSION: Despite the recognition that the implementation of QS is important, these efforts vary across European countries and are unevenly spread across DDR areas. CONCLUSION: This paper focuses on the relevance of QS availability, and emphasises key factors influencing successful implementation.

BACKGROUND: General population surveys present a useful tool for getting information on drug use prevalence, but they often fail to reach a sufficient number of users, which is required to get detailed information on use patterns or other characteristics. Web surveys, especially when they use social networking sites, might present a complementary mechanism for getting a better picture of drug use by reaching hard-to-reach populations. AIM: The main objective of this study was to examine Facebook advertisements as a recruitment strategy in the “European Web Survey on Drugs: patterns of use”, a project organized by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. METHODS:Recruitment campaigns invited adults aged 18+ years who had consumed at least one drug (cannabis, MDMA/ecstasy, amphetamines, or cocaine) in the past 12 months to complete an online survey. The advertisements were created in Facebook’s Advertisement program and were used in Croatia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. RESULTS: Among the eligible participants recruited via Facebook (N=5256), 68.1% were from Croatia, 24.4% from Switzerland, and 7.5% from the Netherlands. The Croatian and Swiss participants were younger and more likely to be males compared to the Dutch participants. Chi-square tests showed that there were significant differences in the frequency of drug use between the samples from the different countries for almost all drugs. CONCLUSION:The Facebook recruitment strategy was successful in reaching young adults, as well as recreational drug users, although the costs, campaign duration, available budget, and content of the ad images differed among the countries.