Julie Gardener
New Member
Cannabis use falls among Dutch youth
Tony Sheldon
Utrecht
BMJ. 2000 September 16; 321(7262): 655.
Abstract
Cannabis use among Dutch schoolchildren aged 10-18 years has fallen for the first time in 16 years, a national survey of risk behaviour among 10000 young people has shown.
The school survey, carried out by Trimbos, the Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction (Home | Trimbos), showed that about one in five young people had used cannabis at some time in their lives but less than a tenth had used it in the previous four weeks ("current users").
Such a survey is carried out every four years with funding from the health ministry. The surveys have shown that cannabis use among current users rose sharply in the early and mid-1990s, from a figure of 3% in 1988 to a high of 11% in 1996. The figures for current users in 2000 were 9.3% (12.4% for boys and 6.5% for girls), compared with 10.7% (13.7% for boys and 7.7% for girls) in 1996.
The latest results also show a 40% reduction in use of ecstasy from 2.2% to 1.4% and in use of amphetamines from 1.9% to 1.1% Cocaine use increased from 1.1% to 1.2
Among cannabis users most had smoked the drug once or twice in the previous four weeks; a third of cannabis smokers were "frequent users" (had smoked two or more times a week). More than half of cannabis users bought their drug from other users, a third from "coffee shops," and one in 10 from dealers.
The Dutch survey follows recent data also showing a "striking" reduction in drug use among 15-16 year olds in the United Kingdom (BMJ 320:1536-7), even though more than a third had used cannabis.
The Dutch health minister, Els Borst, has called for more research into why young people use drugs. She believes a more open debate is now possible. Together with Germany and Switzerland, she is calling for a European "scientific and political" conference on soft drugs.
Source: Cannabis use falls among Dutch youth
Tony Sheldon
Utrecht
BMJ. 2000 September 16; 321(7262): 655.
Abstract
Cannabis use among Dutch schoolchildren aged 10-18 years has fallen for the first time in 16 years, a national survey of risk behaviour among 10000 young people has shown.
The school survey, carried out by Trimbos, the Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction (Home | Trimbos), showed that about one in five young people had used cannabis at some time in their lives but less than a tenth had used it in the previous four weeks ("current users").
Such a survey is carried out every four years with funding from the health ministry. The surveys have shown that cannabis use among current users rose sharply in the early and mid-1990s, from a figure of 3% in 1988 to a high of 11% in 1996. The figures for current users in 2000 were 9.3% (12.4% for boys and 6.5% for girls), compared with 10.7% (13.7% for boys and 7.7% for girls) in 1996.
The latest results also show a 40% reduction in use of ecstasy from 2.2% to 1.4% and in use of amphetamines from 1.9% to 1.1% Cocaine use increased from 1.1% to 1.2
Among cannabis users most had smoked the drug once or twice in the previous four weeks; a third of cannabis smokers were "frequent users" (had smoked two or more times a week). More than half of cannabis users bought their drug from other users, a third from "coffee shops," and one in 10 from dealers.
The Dutch survey follows recent data also showing a "striking" reduction in drug use among 15-16 year olds in the United Kingdom (BMJ 320:1536-7), even though more than a third had used cannabis.
The Dutch health minister, Els Borst, has called for more research into why young people use drugs. She believes a more open debate is now possible. Together with Germany and Switzerland, she is calling for a European "scientific and political" conference on soft drugs.
Source: Cannabis use falls among Dutch youth
