But Britain has retained its position in top spot for cocaine consumption with 5% of young adults aged 15 to 24 reporting that they have used the drug in the past year.
The annual survey by the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction says that in the early to mid-1990s, Britain stood out in Europe as reporting the highest the use of cannabis among 15- to 16-year-olds. At its peak 42% of teenagers said they had used the drug. The latest figures, which date from before the government’s decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug, show this has now fallen to 29%.
“This picture has progressively changed, as levels of use rose in other countries. Moreover, cannabis use in the United Kingdom has been steadily declining since around 2003, particularly among the 16-24 age group, suggesting a generational shift,” says the annual report.
The EU drug agency says the downward or stabilising trend in cannabis use can be seen in at least four other western European countries, including the Netherlands which now has among the lowest rates of cannabis use in adults in Europe. Only 5.4% of Dutch adults are reported to have used cannabis in the past year
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