High abuse rate sparks health fears

Drug experts say the most alarming aspect of Britain's new position at the top of the European cocaine and cannabis league is that the long-term health effects of such widespread abuse are unknown.

The report published yesterday by the European Union's drug agency says that not only do 42% of 15-year-old boys in England say they have tried cannabis at least once but 10% of this age group admit they have smoked the drug at least 40 times in the last year.

The emergence of this group of heavy cannabis users is highest in the United Kingdom but is also a feature in other European countries, including France and Germany, in the last couple of years. Those involved are twice as likely to be boys than girls.

The report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction based in Lisbon says that the acute effects - including short-term memory loss, severe panic attacks and an increased risk of accidents alongside the feelings of euphoria - are well documented. But far less is known about the long-term chronic effects of such regular use not least because it is difficult to separate them from the effects of the binge drinking and smoking that regularly go with it.

The report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe estimates that there are now probably 3m daily users of cannabis across the EU, predominantly young men, who are using the drug intensively. Their emergence is reflected in the growing numbers seeking treatment for cannabis abuse particularly in the Netherlands and Germany.

But the report rejects recent speculation that the increase in the numbers asking for help is because the cannabis is becoming increasingly potent.

Paul Griffiths of the EMCDDA said that while varieties grown in the Netherlands were stronger, they were mainly used by Dutch people; the overwhelming majority of cannabis smoked in Europe was imported from Morocco and remained of the traditional standard strength.

The position of cannabis as Europe's most popular illegal drug has been consolidated since 1997 by the fact that prices have remained stable or even fallen in some countries and range from €2.7 a gram in Spain to €21.5 a gram in Norway.

The rise in cocaine use has taken place not only in Britain and Spain where it reaches nearly 5% of young adults but also to a lesser extent in Denmark and Germany.

One explanation is that there is so much cocaine about that street prices have been falling.

Although still seen by some as a glamorous drug with a positive street image, the number of deaths attributed by doctors solely to cocaine, although relatively small, rose eightfold in the United Kingdom between 1993 and 2001.

The report says that it appears that use of ecstasy and heroin is relatively stable in the United Kingdom but the authors say it is the only country in Europe where the average age of heroin addicts does not increase each year, suggesting that younger addicts are being recruited by the dealers.

The Czech Republic appears to have emerged as the ecstasy capital of Europe.