Report: Illegal drug use in Finland among lowest in Europe

EMCDDA says drug use stabilised in Europe

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A report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction says that illegal drug use in Finland is lower than in most European countries.
      The fresh annual report mentions a Finnish curiosity - the abuse of the pharmaceutical drug buprenorphine, which is used in drug replacement therapy. Buprenorphine is also the most common reason why people seek treatment: 40 per cent of those seeking treatment in Finland used buprenorphine. In France the figure is less than ten per cent.
      The report claims that drug use is stabilising in Europe. The EMCDDA says that it has not received reports of increased consumption, and that the popularity of some drugs is actually declining.
     
The most common illegal drug is still cannabis, but the monitoring centre sees signs that its popularity is declining. Evidence for this primarily comes form questionnaires, which suggest that fewer 15-year-olds are experimenting with cannabis.
      Two possible reasons for this have been put forward. Researchers says that the decline in tobacco smoking is having an effect, as cannabis is often smoked mixed with tobacco.
      It has also been seen that there has been a change in public perception of the risks of cannabis.
     
Most of the respondents to the questionnaire felt that the use of heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy involved big risks, but with cannabis, opinions were divided, with 40 per cent saying that the risks were high, while 43 per cent felt that they were on a par with the risks of tobacco.
      Nearly one third felt that cannabis should be regulated in the same way as alcohol and tobacco.
      In Britain, use of cannabis had declined among those aged 16 to 24, although cannabis has been clearly more popular in Britain than in other European countries.
      In Finland, use has declined among the young, while it is as common as before among young adults.
     
Availability of drugs is actually growing. The record opium crop in Afghanistan has led to an increased supply of heroin, and cocaine imported from West Africa is growing substantially.
      According to the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES), which monitors the situation in Finland, there are no signs that the use of either drug would be on the increase in Finland. Cocaine remains a drug of small circles in Finland.
      The EMCDDA divides Europe according to stimulant use into cocaine and amphetamine countries. Finland falls into the latter category, while both are used in Norway.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sharp increase in number of young people dying with illegal drugs in their system (29.10.2008)
  Treatment for drug addicts inadequate in many cities (23.9.2008)
  Study finds more moderation in Finnish attitudes toward illegal drugs (25.3.2008)

Links:
  European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)

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