French Teenagers Turn To Marijuana From Alcohol

[Frazz]

PARIS — Teenagers see wine and spirits as "old France" and are increasingly turning to cannabis to let their hair down, according to a national study on its consumption.

 

Jean-Michel Costes, head of the French drugs and addiction watchdog, OFDT*, said yesterday that French cannabis use has soared in the past 15 years and is now almost on a par with Britain.

 

While the French drink half the amount they did in the 1960s, cannabis consumption among the 18–35 year olds has more than tripled since the early 1990s, the report found.

 

France is now just behind Britain, Spain, Switzerland, and Europe's heaviest cannabis users, the Czech Republic.

 

"There is a big cultural difference between France and England," Mr. Costes said. "Everyone drinks a bit in France, but aspart of a meal, not in order to get merry. To do that, the young are turning to cannabis," he said.

 

A nationwide drink-driving awareness campaign and stricter controls have helped change drinking habits in favor of cannabis smoking.

 

"Young people who want to rebel don't want the "old-fashioned" image associated with wine and alcohol," Mr. Costes said. "Unlike in the U.K., binge-drinking is very uncommon — the French steer clear of hangovers or feeling ill.

 

"Our studies show that they are turning to cannabis because its effects reinforce their state of mind without fundamentally altering it. They don't want to get wasted."

 

His report found that in 2005 about a quarter of French people and half of 17-year olds said they had tried cannabis. More than a million are regular users and half a million smoke a "joint" every day.

 

Among the young, the number of regular cannabis users is now almost the same as regular alcohol drinkers.

 

Breton youths leave the rest of France behind in consumption of cannabis, and the western region also comes top of the alcohol consumption league.

 

"We think this has something to do with the Celtic connection," Mr. Costes said.

 

His findings also appeared to shatter the stereotype of the French leading a stress-free life with short working hours and plenty of holiday, as he pointed out that the French lead the world in the consumption of tranquillizers.

 

Author: Henry Samuel

Date: 12 July 2007

Source: The New York Sun , Telegraph.co.uk

Copyright: © 2007 The New York Sun.

 

* OFDT... First set up in 1993, the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) is a public interest group. It produces informations collected from various and scientifically validated sources on licit as well as illicit drugs. It informs and documents number of questions in the fields of psychoactive substances and drug addiction. Who are the users? What are the uses? Which kinds of use exist? Which substances do circulate? What are health and social damages caused by drugs use? What are the public opinions and perceptions on drugs? .

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[everest]

typical

 

20 yrs ago france was awash with real good hash , straight from n. africa

 

was nice stuff , . .

 

now i bet it's very easy to aquire , spain being the perfect border partner .

 

ev

[WantDaChronic]

bout time they started catching up

[Stoney]

i could not imagin a better way to wash down some frogs legs and garlic snails than with a nice bowl afterwards

 

viva la france

 

cheerz :Dj: