The Czech Republic Annual Report 2010 Drug ... - Drogy-info.cz

2 Drug Use in the General Population and Specific Targeted Groups
Two independent surveys on representative samples of the population of the Czech Republic were carried out in
2010. The prevalence levels of illicit drug use identified by both surveys are very much the same. The surveys
carried out in the past three years show that the level of experience with the use of illicit drugs among the general
population is stable, with cannabis and ecstasy being the most frequently used illegal drugs in the adult population
(23–34 and 4–10% respectively). The last-year use of cannabis was reported by 10–15% of respondents, while less
than 4% of the adults that were interviewed reported the use of other illegal drugs. The last-month use of illegal
drugs other than cannabis has long been reported by less than 1% of respondents. Young adults aged from 15 to 34
show higher levels of use: approximately one fifth of them had experienced cannabis in the last year.
The HBSC international survey showed that the number of students in the ninth grade of elementary school who had
used marijuana rose between 2006 and 2010 to reach the level of 30.5% for lifetime prevalence and 21.5% for lastyear
prevalence.
According to a study focusing on intensive cannabis use, the use of cannabis poses a relatively low risk for 70% of
users. Up to 10% of cannabis users, however, are at significant risk of problems associated with the use of cannabisbased
drugs and dependence on them. When extrapolated to the Czech population as a whole, this proportion
corresponds to approximately 1.0–1.5% of the adult population, i.e. 75–110 thousand high-risk cannabis users,
mainly young adults.
A special study focusing on the use of legal highs (which have effects similar to those produced by traditional illegal
drugs but are not scheduled as illegal substances) showed that almost 5% of young adults in the Czech Republic
have tried these substances; a similar result was also generated in the Czech Republic by the Eurobarometer
survey.
The surveys investigating public attitudes to drug use indicate that the Czech population is generally tolerant towards
the use of cannabis: an absolute majority supports the legalisation of the cultivation and possession of cannabis,
especially for medical purposes.
Additionally, the first representative study on drug use among the prison population was conducted and the results of
further studies on drug use in nightlife settings were made available. Both subpopulations show dramatically higher
levels of experience of drug use than the general population.
2.1 Drug Use in the General Population
2.1.1 Representative Studies in 2010
2.1.1.1 Survey on Czech Citizens’ Opinions and Attitudes
As part of the Survey on Czech Citizens’ Opinions about and Attitudes to the Issues of Health and Healthy Lifestyles
conducted by the INRES–SONES Agency (2010 Citizen Survey), a representative sample comprising 1793
inhabitants of the Czech Republic aged over 15 years was interviewed in the autumn of 2010 35 . In addition to
questions concerning the issue of health and healthy lifestyles, the respondents were asked about their experience
with illicit drug use.
Traditionally, cannabis (marijuana and hashish) is by far the most widespread illegal drug; 30.5% of the respondents
have used the drug at least once in their lifetime, with men showing considerably higher levels of use than women
(38.6% vs. 22.3%) (Národní monitorovací středisko pro drogy a drogové závislosti and Agentura INRES-SONES,
2010b). According to this 2010 study, almost half of the respondents (49.3%) in the 15–34 age group have had
some experience with cannabis. However, the prevalence of marijuana use in the last year was significantly lower.
The last-year use of marijuana was reported by 10.4% of the respondents (aged 15–64), of whom men and women
accounted for 14.8% and 6.0% respectively; 27% of the respondents in the 15–34 age group reported having tried a
cannabis-based drug in the last year. The last-month use of cannabis was reported by 4.2% of the population aged
15–64, with the highest rates again being observed among the 15–24 (8.9%) and 25–34 (7.2%) age groups.
2.1.1.2 Selected Aspects of the Drug Problem from Citizens’ Perspective
In September 2010 the Institute for Criminology and Social Prevention carried out a survey called Selected Aspects
of the Drug Problem from Citizens’ Perspective. Among other variables, the study, conducted in association with the
Factum Invenio Agency, looked into citizens’ experiences with addictive substances. The survey was designed as an
omnibus study applying the face-to-face interview method to a representative sample of the population of the Czech
Republic aged over 15 years. The sample, comprising 2044 respondents, was recruited using quota sampling; see
Table 2-2.
35
Results presented below are for the 15-24 (very young adults), 15-34 (young adults), and 15-64 (adults in total) age groups, i.e.
standard EMCDDA age groups.
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