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Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...

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Deaths<br />

In the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong>, smoking is still the main cause of premature death. In 2008 over<br />

19,300 people aged over 20 died as direct consequence of smoking. This was almost<br />

the same number as in 2007. Lung cancer is the main cause of smoking related deaths.<br />

The death rate from this disease rose slightly between 2003 <strong>and</strong> 2008, particularly<br />

among women. These figures do not reflect deaths due to passive smoking. In 2008<br />

alcohol-related conditions were the direct cause of 765 deaths; in almost a further<br />

thous<strong>and</strong> cases, alcohol-related conditions were registered as a secondary diagnosis.<br />

The rising trend in total deaths from alcohol-related conditions from the early 1990s did<br />

not continue during the period between 2004 <strong>and</strong> 2008. The death rate from smoking<br />

<strong>and</strong> alcohol-related conditions is many times greater than the death rate due to (hard)<br />

drugs. In 2008 129 drugs users died from the consequences of drug overdose, which<br />

was more than in 2007, when there were 99 deaths. In the past ten years, this number<br />

has fluctuated between around 100 <strong>and</strong> 140 cases. Only one in five victims is aged<br />

between 15 <strong>and</strong> 34. Ten years ago, as many as 47% of victims were in this young age<br />

group. By comparison with a number of other EU member states, the rate of acute<br />

drug-related deaths in the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong> is low.<br />

Market<br />

Increase in use of mixers in ecstasy <strong>and</strong> cocaine<br />

For many years, ‘ecstasy tablets’ at consumer level consist mainly of MDMA-like<br />

substances (in 2007 this was the case in 91% of the tablets tested). However, in late<br />

2008 <strong>and</strong> in the first half of 2009 the was a sharp decline in the proportion of tablets<br />

containing MDMA, accompanied by a sharp rise in the percentage of tablets containing<br />

more or less comparable pharmaceutical substances (such as mCPP). In the first half of<br />

2009 only 70 percent of ecstasy tablets tested contained MDMA. Other pharmaceuticals<br />

are increasingly being found in cocaine samples, particularly levamisol, a substance<br />

that is no longer registered for human medicinal use. The health risks of snorting or<br />

smoking cocaine that has been mixed with levamisol are not known exactly. In the US,<br />

cases of serious blood diseases have been reported.<br />

The average THC-content (the main active substance in cannabis) in Dutch-grown<br />

weed declined from 20 to 16 percent between 2004 <strong>and</strong> 2007, stabilising at this level<br />

in the years following. In 2009 the average percentage of THC in Dutch-grown weed<br />

was 15%. The price of Dutch-grown weed has risen slightly in recent years. In 2009 the<br />

average price was €8.10 per gram for the most popular variety, <strong>and</strong> €10.50 for the most<br />

potent variety. There are no indications that cannabis containing lead or glass particles<br />

is reaching the market via the coffee shops. Little is known about the presence of other<br />

substances such as pesticides in Dutch-grown weed, or about the extent to which these<br />

pose a threat to the health of cannabis users.<br />

Summary<br />

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