Cannabis use among teenagers continues to fall

[hobbez]

Cannabis use among teenagers continues to fall

 

Change in attitudes among 15- to 16-year-olds behind decline, though UK tops Europe's cocaine league, says drug agency

 

* Alan Travis

* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 November 2009 13.48 GMT

* Article history

 

Proportion of 15- to 16-years-olds who report having used cannibas in the past year has fallen from 42% in the mid-90s to 29% today. Photograph: Roy Morsch/Corbis

 

Cannabis use among teenagers has continued to decline in the UK owing to a change in attitudes in the current generation of school students, according to the annual survey from the European drug agency.

 

But Britain has retained its position in top spot for cocaine consumption with 5% of young adults aged 15 to 24 reporting that they have used the drug in the past year.

 

The annual survey by the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction says that in the early to mid-1990s, Britain stood out in Europe as reporting the highest the use of cannabis among 15- to 16-year-olds. At its peak 42% of teenagers said they had used the drug. The latest figures, which date from before the government's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug, show this has now fallen to 29%.

 

"This picture has progressively changed, as levels of use rose in other countries. Moreover, cannabis use in the United Kingdom has been steadily declining since around 2003, particularly among the 16-24 age group, suggesting a generational shift," says the annual report.

 

The EU drug agency says the downward or stabilising trend in cannabis use can be seen in at least four other western European countries, including the Netherlands which now has among the lowest rates of cannabis use in adults in Europe. Only 5.4% of Dutch adults are reported to have used cannabis in the past year – compared with the European average of 6.8% – indicating that their country's policy of coffee shops and decriminalisation has not led to a sustained increase in consumption. Italy, then Spain and the Czech Republic now top the European cannabis table.

 

No such claims of success, however, can be made for tackling Europe's continuing cocaine problem. The EU drug agency says that cocaine and heroin have maintained their firm hold on the European drugs scene over the past year. Cocaine use remains concentrated in western EU countries. The highest proportion of users is in Spain and the UK, where 5% of young adults reported using the drug in the past year.

 

Falling cocaine prices are identified as key factor in the continuing popularity of the drug. The EU agency says the lower prices in Europe is a result of South American cocaine traffickers searching for an alternative market to the US.

 

It reports that heroin is a stable, but no longer diminishing, problem across Europe with between 1.2 million and 1.5 million opioid users.

 

This was one interesting fact if you've been following what's happening in the UK.

 

The latest figures, which date from before the government's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug, show this has now fallen to 29%.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov...cline-teenagers

Edited November 5, 2009 by hobbez

[bufo marinus]

This was one interesting fact if you've been following what's happening in the UK.

 

The latest figures, which date from before the government's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug, show this has now fallen to 29%.

 

 

Good pick up hobbez