National
Spain leads EU league table for cocaine use, but cannabis is down
By m.p. - Nov 5, 2009 - 3:18 PM
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Cannabis use is now more extensive in Italy
Spain is still the cocaine capital of Europe, the latest annual report from the EU’s drugs agency has revealed, where 3.1% of Spaniards have admitted to taking cocaine in the past year. A little over 1% said they had done so in the past month, which puts Spain in the top position for that time frame also.
The watchdog’s figures are based on 2007 results or for the last available year.
The annual rate is slightly up on the figure for 2008 and is still well above the European average of 1.2%. Wolfgang Götz, head of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, said some small progress had been made in cocaine consumption having stabilised in Spain over the past 5 to 6 years, after the massive increase in previous years. He said there was still a lot to be done, however, in bringing use of the drug down in Spain.
On a more positive note, cannabis use in Spain is declining. 10.1% of Spaniards between the ages of 15 and 64 admitted to using it in the past year, compared with the previous figure of 11.2%. But while Italy has now taken the lead over Spain for that age group and time period, Spain comes out ahead in the EU for the 15-34 year olds who said they had used cannabis in the past month.
The watchdog estimates that more than 1% of the European population over the age of 15, noted by EFE as equating to around 4 million people, consume cannabis on a daily or almost basis. The figure goes up to around 2% for the age group 15-34.