- BRUSSELS (Reuters) - More
cannabis is being smoked in the European Union than ever before, with 3
million daily users in the 25-nation bloc, but consumption may have reached
its peak, new figures showed on Thursday.
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- Fifteen percent of 15-16 year old EU school students
are heavy cannabis users, with young men twice as likely to sample the
drug as young women, said a report by the European drug watchdog body.
-
- "This is a very important public health issue that
requires urgent attention," Paul Griffiths, Program Co-ordinator of
the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), told
a news conference.
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- The annual report comes amid EMCDDA fears about a stronger
version of cannabis now on the market, which can cause panic attacks, and
concern about "severe" drug problems in the new EU countries
that joined the bloc in May this year.
-
- Prolonged and heavy cannabis use can lead to depression
and aggravate pre-existing mental health problems, Griffiths said.
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- Cannabis use has stabilized in Europe but is at historically
high levels, the annual report showed.
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- Ecstasy, frequently consumed by young people at all-night
dance parties known as raves, is emerging as the second most commonly used
drug in Europe, overtaking amphetamines.
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- The EU is one of the world's largest Ecstasy producers,
and to tackle the problem the bloc has tightened import controls of chemicals
used to make the tablets.
-
- The inclusion of 10 predominantly Central and Eastern
European states in the EU this year has raised concerns about Europe's
new borders with Russia and its former republics.
-
- "The Russian Federation, Ukraine and some of the
central Asian republics are developing very nasty and severe drug use problems,
particularly for heroin and opiates," said Griffiths, adding that
these states were facing an AIDS epidemic as a consequence of drug-users
sharing dirty needles.
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- He said Europe should build links with these states to
help them fight the problem. Drug use in Baltic EU states is also fueling
an AIDS epidemic in the region.
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