Radio Netherlands

Thursday 05 Nov 2009

The EU drugs agency EMCDDA says that the Netherlands has one of the
lowest levels of cannabis use, despite its liberal drugs policies.

In its annual report, the agency says that 5.4 percent of Dutch
adults smoked hashish or cannabis in the past year, against a European
average of 6.8 percent.

Users in Spain, France and the Czech Republic smoke much more, with
Italy as the absolute front-runner. Almost 15 percent of the Italian
population admit having smoked a joint in the past year.

The EU drugs agency observes that cannabis use in Europe appears to
be in decline, which is a reversal after two decades of increasing
use. The consumption of cocaine remains high in Europe, and the use of
heroin is stable.

The report calls it a dangerous trend that teenage users increasingly
combine several kinds of drugs. The most common combinations are
alcohol with cigarettes or cannabis. Users are beginning to add xtc or
cocaine to the mix, exposing themselves to increased risks.

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/liberal-dutch-smoke-less-cannabis