Syringe Residues Analysis in Sofia and Plovdiv

In July and August 2026, the Center for Humane Policy (CHP) took part in Bulgaria’s first analysis of residues from needles and syringes, carried out as part of the ESCAPE project of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).
          The study was conducted with the cooperation of the National Focal Point on Drugs and Drug Addictions and the invaluable participation of the Chemical and Toxicological Laboratory at the Military Medical Academy in Sofia, where the actual analysis of the contents of the used syringes took place.
          For the past two years, the CHP has been raising the alarm about the increased use of fentanyl. Among other alarming trends, our research has identified the highest levels of this opioid in the collected samples. From the start of the country’s participation in the project — which has been running at European level for more than ten years — Bulgaria has taken the lead in terms of the number of positive samples for fentanyl.

In the Sofia area, three syringe collection points were set up and 150 syringes containing psychoactive substances were analysed. Fentanyl was detected in 17%, which in itself is the highest percentage in Europe. However, the simultaneously increased police presence in the capital at some of the highest-risk locations during the limited time available for sample collection may suggest that this fails to reflect the entire picture.

The situation in Plovdiv was even worse and even appears almost unrealistic: the dangerous opiate was found in a staggering 94% of 152 samples. These were collected from two sampling sites.

In light of the confirmed record number of fatal fentanyl overdoses, we sincerely hope that the analysis will bring more of the relevant authorities’ attention to this dire problem.

• In Bulgaria, there is still no access to the life-saving nasal naloxone — neither for frontline workers, nor for people who use drugs and who might need to act immediately in an emergency.
• The CHP remains the only organisation in the country actively working in harm reduction. This is why the study was conducted only in the towns and cities where we are present. State funding for these activities is severely limited, and their provision depends on international financing and donations.
• The number of places offering free treatment and rehabilitation for people with substance use disorders is so small that they are, in practice, inaccessible.
• Private programs is expensive and accessible only to those with substantial financial means, whilst its effectiveness is only monitored where their owners are willing to do so.
• Day and evening rehabilitation programs for people with substance use disorders, in practice, non-existent.
• The lack of outreach[1]  activities in entertainment venues, at festivals, etc., as well as the absolute ban on drug checking, prevent us from gaining a fuller picture of the actual prevalence of this substance, which can be taken in multiple ways.

Thanks to this study, we now have evidence that fentanyl is being injected. Teams from the Center for Humane Policy have observed that it is also smoked when mixed with a leafy substance nicknamed “bilka” or “bonsai”. Until two years ago, we assumed that it contained mainly synthetic cannabinoids, but this no longer appears to be the case. In practice, we have no data to indicate whether it is additionally mixed with other narcotic substances which users may be unaware of. 

Link to the official statement by the National Focal Point on Drugs and Drug Addictions (NFP)

Translated by Sofia Kleinsasser