Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...
Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...
Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...
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Trends<br />
It is difficult to determine the trends in cannabis use on account of a lack of repeat <strong>and</strong><br />
comparable measurements in <strong>and</strong> between countries.<br />
• In thirteen of the EU-15 plus Norway for which data are available, cannabis use<br />
has generally risen since 1990 in a majority of nine countries; it has declined in only<br />
one country; <strong>and</strong> has remained more or less stable in a minority of three countries,<br />
including the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong>. In most cases, the rise in use occurred mainly in the 1990s,<br />
whereas in the past decade recent cannabis use declined in France, the U.K., Germany<br />
<strong>and</strong> Greece. In the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong> recent cannabis use remained at more or less the same<br />
level between 1997 <strong>and</strong> 2005.<br />
• Likewise in the US, cannabis use declined at the start of this century. Between 2002<br />
<strong>and</strong> 2007, recent use in the general population aged 12 <strong>and</strong> older dropped from 11<br />
to 10 percent. The decline occurred chiefly among juveniles aged from 12 to 17.<br />
• In Australia recent cannabis use in the general population aged 14 <strong>and</strong> older rose from<br />
13% in 1995 to 18% in 1998, after which it declined to 9% in 2007.<br />
Juveniles<br />
The data from ESPAD, the European School Survey Project on Alcohol <strong>and</strong> Other <strong>Drug</strong>s<br />
lend themselves better to comparison. In 1999, 2003 <strong>and</strong> 2007, surveys were conducted<br />
among fifteen <strong>and</strong> sixteen year old secondary school pupils (Hibell et al., 2000, 2004,<br />
2008.<br />
Table 2.8 shows cannabis use in a number of EU countries, Norway, Switzerl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> the<br />
US. The US did not take part in the ESPAD but conducted similar research.<br />
• The percentage of school-goers that had ever used cannabis in 2007 was highest in<br />
Spain, followed closely by Switzerl<strong>and</strong>, the US France <strong>and</strong> the U.K.. Dutch schoolgoers<br />
were in sixth place.<br />
• Spain topped the list for current use, followed by Switzerl<strong>and</strong>, France <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong>.<br />
• The percentage of school-goers that had used cannabis six times or more in the past<br />
month was lowest in Greece <strong>and</strong> the Nordic countries Norway, Finl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Sweden,<br />
<strong>and</strong> highest in Spain, followed by Switzerl<strong>and</strong>, France, the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong>, the US <strong>and</strong><br />
Italy.<br />
• In 2003 Dutch school-goers occupied a better position in the rankings. This is not<br />
because cannabis use in the <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong> has increased, but because between 2003<br />
<strong>and</strong> 2007 declines (some remarkable) took place in other countries such as the U.K.,<br />
Irel<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> France.<br />
• Regular cannabis use (10 time or more in the past year) is associated with low selfesteem,<br />
an increased chance of depression, anomia, anti-social behaviour, running<br />
away from home, self-harm <strong>and</strong> suicidality. These associations were, however, also<br />
found with other substances, such as alcohol <strong>and</strong> tobacco.<br />
2 Cannabis<br />
47