Cannabis: 36% of new consumers are teenagers

Cannabis has become the drug most consumed by minors when they begin to consume toxic substances, surpassing even tobacco. This is one of the conclusions that emerge from the Household Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs 2013/2014 made by the Ministry of Health.

So of the 168,677 people who started using cannabis last year, 36 percent, that is 61,085, were minors, that is, boys and girls between 15 and 17 years old. This daily consumption has increased by two tenths to 1.9% of the surveyed population, which means that around 620,000 people smoke cannabis every day, and among those under 15 and 17 years of age, the consumption of cannabis in the Last year is five points higher than that registered among adults. Therefore, according to Francisco Babín, delegate of the Government for the National Plan on Drugs, "concerns both the incidence and the volume of use of this drug."

Cannabis has a low perception of risk

Compared to the effects of other drugs, cannabis enjoys great social tolerance due, in part, according to Babin to "the messages that the population receives from certain groups about the hypothetical benefits of cannabis, despite the fact that science says clearly that the consumption of this substance causes the central nervous system to be deficient, reduces the ability to concentrate and solve tasks ".

In this sense, authors Tom Scott and Trevor Grice, in their book Brain thieves, they assure that "cannabis impairs short-term memory and the psychomotor system, in addition to producing possible psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations or illusions". Chronic side effects include "probable respiratory diseases and an increased risk of cancer of the aerodigestive tract, progressive loss of other intellectual abilities, reduced production of reproductive hormones, defective ovulation and libido, increased production of white blood cells and deterioration of the immune system".

In fact, for the first time in Spain, "this drug has become the most demanding treatment among people who ask for help for the first time, surpassing cocaine and heroin," says Babin. The survey data reveal that 72% of those who came to receive treatment in 2012, consumed daily or almost daily. In this sense, digging a little deeper into the data, the survey reveals that 2.2% of Spaniards, that is, more than 700,000 people, meet the criteria required for the diagnosis of problematic cannabis use.

These data contrast with those of smokers, who are more positive. Since the entry into force of the new regulations, Babín points out, "the levels of daily consumption are frankly lower". As in 1997 46.8% of the population had smoked in the last 12 months, in the last survey, the percentage is reduced to 40.7%. In addition, the average age of onset has increased slightly and is now 16 years.

Effects of daily cannabis use among adolescents

Cannabis is the illegal drug consumed by a higher percentage of young people in Spain. According to another survey, the last of ESTUDES, on school population between 14 and 18 years, daily consumption is 2.7% (3.8% in boys and 1.5% in girls).

Starting to smoke cannabis before reaching the age of majority is not risk free. On the contrary, a study published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry reveals that adolescents under the age of 17 who use cannabis daily are 60% less likely to finish high school or get a university degree compared to those who have never smoked this drug. And among the "psychosocial consequences" of habitual cannabis use, it is also said that adolescents are 7 times more likely to attempt suicide, 18 times more likely to develop cannabis dependence and 8 times more likely to consume other drugs in adulthood.

The aim of this Australian study, carried out with 3,765 participants, was to better understand the relationship between the frequency of cannabis use (never, every more than a month, once a month or more, weekly, daily) in adolescence and seven results linked to development up to 30 years of age. Among them, finish the institute, get a university degree, dependence on cannabis, use of other illicit drugs, suicide attempt, depression and dependence on social benefits.

Researchers at Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Center found that these results provide strong evidence that prevention or delay in cannabis use can have great social and health benefits.

For or against legalization

These data reopen the debate among those who are in favor or against legalizing this substance. According to the latest Eurobarometer on the relationship between youth and drugs, although they remain Most Europeans between 15 and 24 who oppose legalizing cannabis, although in the last 3 years, the percentage that prefers its regulation has gone from 34% to 45%.

In Spain, this variation is even higher: from 35% in 2011 to the current 47%. If this trend continues, the 2017 survey will be the majority of Spanish and European young people asking for legalization, as is already happening in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Austria and The Netherlands, the only State in the European Union where cannabis is legal.

And is that tolerance to cannabis in relation to other drugs is clearly reflected in this detail that shows the barometer commissioned by the European Commission: 90 percent of young people reject the legalization of drugs such as heroin, cocaine or ecstasy . However, 22% of young Spaniards and 17% of Europeans say they have used cannabis in the last year.

Part of this favorable trend Tolerance and legalization of cannabis It can be the responsibility of the cannabis clubs. These clubs, which have gained support in recent years thanks to spreading certain benefits of cannabis use, are premises in which their members can buy a stipulated amount of cannabis for their own consumption, in exchange for the payment of an annual fee that is usually around 20 euros.

These consumer associations are different from those coffeeshops or the popular Dutch establishments in which, in addition to drinking coffee, customers can buy marijuana. In clubs, they do not allow entry to anyone, only their members and, therefore, defend that they do not encourage consumption.

Marisol New

More information in the book: Brain thieves. What every young person should know about drugs. Authors Tom Scott and Trevor Grice.