Almost half of 17-year-olds say they have tested cannabis before. This alarming observation stems from the 8th “Escapad” study (survey on health and consumption during the defense preparation call) conducted by the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). The survey is based on the responses to anonymous questionnaires distributed to more than 20,000 young people on their call day.
While 41% had already experienced the cannabis in 2011, 17-year-olds are now 47.8% to have ever smoked a joint. 9.2% of respondents even say they smoke it at least 10 times a month (against 6.7% in 2011), which is no longer an occasional consumption. This increase can be explained in particular by the increase in the use of cannabis by adolescent girls, who are more likely to smoke. In 2014, 45.8% of girls said they had tried the joint, against 38.9% in 2011. Regular smokers are also more numerous: 5.8% of respondents in 2014, against 3.4% three years ago. years.
For the OFDT, this increase in consumption is all the more worrying as it exposes 25% of smokers and 17% of smokers to risks of dependence. In all, 8% of 17-year-olds risk becoming addicted.
Alcohol and tobacco are still popular, experimentation with ecstasy is exploding
At the same time, the study reveals that thealcohol remains by far the most widely used drug among young people, with 89.3% of teenagers have already tested it. The figure is also down slightly compared to 2011 (91%). Good news also on the side of binge-drinking (at least 5 glasses of alcohol on a single occasion): less than one in two young people (48.8%) claim to have had this behavior in 2014, against 53.8% in 2011. On the other hand, and despite prevention campaigns, tobacco is on the rise, with 32.4% of regular consumers against 31.5% in 2011.
Another worrying use: the consumption ofecstasy (mainly in the form of MDMA) has exploded among young people, who are 3.8% to have experienced it in 2014, against 1.9% in 2011. Despite everything, the OFDT specifies that “the levels of use [de cette drogue] over the course of life, however, remain low ”. Furthermore, experimentation with cocaine, hallucinogenic mushrooms and heroin remains stable.
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