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160 people died last year because of causes connected to narcotic substances. This is the highest indicator in Estonia ever. This gives Estonia the top position among European Union states in regard to drug-related deaths in ratio to population figures – in Estonia, eight times more people die a year because of drugs than in EU on average.

In the year 2001, 38 people died of drug overdoses in Estonia. That year, a thorough "National strategy of preventing drug addiction till the year 2012" was completed that ended last year. "Despite this excellent drug strategy, we have to admit that we have failed," said central criminal police major Risto Kasemäe, meaning the whole state under the "we".

Polls show that young people experimenting with amphetamine has fallen in recent years, cannabis use has stabilized and the number of injecting drug addicts has fallen too. All these are rather indirect evaluations and information about the spread of drug addiction is very uncertain – for example people working in the sphere says there are 5,000-20,000 injecting drug addicts in Estonia.

Last year, law enforcement confiscated more fentanyl, the favourite substance of injecting drug addicts, than in earlier years. Altogether 1.5 million euros of criminal revenues was caught which is by around a half more than in 2011. While in 2007, 330 drug criminals were sent to jail, in 2011, 561. Thus, while the police says that its work seems to imprive in every aspect, still more drug addicts die than in preceding years.