Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...

users increased. The total percentage of recent and current users remained at the
same level in all three surveys (table 2.1).
• In 2005 over one in five people surveyed reported ever having used cannabis. One in
twenty had used cannabis in the year prior to the interview (recent use), and one in
thirty-three had done so in the month before the interview (current use).
• Calculated in terms of the population, the number of current cannabis users amounts
to 363,000.
• In 2005 1.3% of the population had used cannabis for the first time ever. The growth
of new users has remained stable throughout the years.
Table 2.1 Cannabis use in the Netherlands in the population aged from 15 to 64. Survey years 1997,
2001 and 2005
Ever use
- Male
- Females
Recent use I
- Males
- Females
Current use II
- Males
- Females
1997 2001 2005
19.1%
24.5%
13.6%
5.5%
7.1%
3.8%
3.0%
4.2%
1.8%
19.5%
23.6%
15.3%
5.5%
7.2%
3.8%
3.4%
4.8%
1.9%
22.6%
29.1%
16.1%
5.4%
7.8%
3.1%
3.3%
5.2%
1.5%
First used in the past year 1.4% 1.1% 1.3%
Average age of recent users I 27.3 years 28.3 years 30.5 years
Number of respondents: 17 590 (1997), 2 312 (2001), 4 516 (2005). I. In the past year. II. In the past
month. Source: NPO, IVO.
Age and Gender
• More males than females use cannabis (table 2.1).
• Consumption of cannabis occurs chiefly among juveniles and young adults (figure 2.1).
- Between 1997 and 2005 the percentage of recent and current users aged 15 to 24
dropped, whereas the percentage of recent and current users in the 25 to 44 year
age group increased. This shift took place mainly between 1997 and 2001.
- Likewise, the average age of recent cannabis users rose – from 27 to almost 31
(table 2.1).
- The age of onset is the age at which a person first used a substance (see also
appendix A: age of onset). Among ever users of cannabis, the age of onset for the
15 to 24 year old age group was 16.4 years on average. In the population aged 15
to 64, the age of onset averaged 19.6 years.
34 Netherlands National Drug Monitor - NDM Annual Report 2009