site.btaUPDATED Bulgarian Prosecutors Warn of Rising Synthetic Drug Threat Amid Legislative Gaps

A worrying trend is being observed in the spread of new synthetic substances, along with a lack of up-to-date legislation to address them, the Sofia Regional Prosecution Office (SRPO) said here on Monday. 

Following the first court case involving possession of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), prosecutors say there is a concerning trend related to the emergence of new synthetic substances and the absence of current legislation applicable to them. 

According to the SRPO, the problem is no longer limited to traditionally known narcotic substances. Increasingly serious threats are posed by fentanyl, GHB and its precursors, new synthetic opioids, and other substances that are more potent, harder to detect, easier to conceal, and in many cases far more dangerous to health and life. This requires not only a criminal law response in individual cases, but also a real change in how the state evaluates, classifies, and regulates new synthetic substances. 

Particularly troubling, according to the prosecution office, is the fact that the State’s response to new synthetic substances often comes in a fragmented way - one legal act regulates the inclusion of a substance in a relevant list, another determines its value for the purposes of legal proceedings, while in the meantime law enforcement authorities and the courts are already dealing with specific cases. This fragmented and cumbersome regulatory framework creates a risk that criminal law protections for society will lag behind the actual level of public danger, the SRPO added. 

They further emphasize that it is no longer sufficient to speak only about individual cases. A serious institutional discussion is needed on whether the current lists of narcotic substances, risk assessment mechanisms, classification rules, and procedures for updating regulations correspond to the real dynamics of the synthetic drug market. 

The prosecution service, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Customs Agency, relevant expert councils, and the National Assembly must act in a coordinated manner and adopt a unified approach. According to the SRPO, it is clear that the new wave of synthetic substances cannot be tackled in a fragmented way, as this threat requires a unified, timely, and decisive state response. 

Nikolay Nikolaev, spokesperson for the SRPO, warned at a media briefing that current regulations are lagging and the state’s response to emerging dangerous drugs is delayed. The primary concerns are fentanyl and GHB, the so-called “date-rape drug.” Nikolaev called on all responsible institutions to make maximum efforts to counter this growing phenomenon and emphasized that law enforcement will actively participate in the dialogue.

He described the past few months as an “explosion” of narcotics, likening the situation to a “zombie apocalypse” depicted on social media. Fentanyl is classified in “List 2,” meaning it has medical applications, but its concentration is so high that even small doses can be lethal. 

Nikolaev noted that the public danger of fentanyl and GHB is currently treated similarly to marijuana in legal practice. He suggested that new qualifying criteria might be needed for such substances. He also mentioned discussions with relevant institutions regarding antidotes, stressing that timely administration is critical for preventing deaths from these drugs. 

Currently, the judicial system largely assesses public danger based on the monetary value of the drug. Nikolaev highlighted that lethal doses of fentanyl sufficient to kill 100 people could cost less than 20 BGN, making the current value-based evaluation inadequate. He also observed that heroin is increasingly being replaced by fentanyl due to its easier availability.  

Bulgaria continues to retain its characteristics as a transit zone in international drug trafficking to and from Europe. Drug production within the country is largely limited to the synthesis of amphetamines and methamphetamines, as well as cannabis cultivation, in quantities that can be distributed on the domestic illegal market. Cases involving the distribution of fentanyl are becoming more frequent, according to the Ministry of Interior’s 2025 activity report.