Marijuana use by teenagers doubles

The rate of marijuana use among teenage boys has nearly doubled in a matter of four years and the perception of its availability among students increased two-fold.

The latest European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (Espad), carried out among 3,500 Form V students in 2003, shows that 12.7 per cent of males used marijuana, a surge of 5.3 per cent over the previous 1999 study.

The proportion of students who felt it was "very easy" or "fairly easy" to obtain marijuana or hashish has gone up to 20 per cent in 2003 from 11 per cent four years earlier.

Another key finding is that between 1999 and 2003, the prevalence of alcohol use, binge drinking and drunkenness among 15 to 16-year-olds was maintained at relatively high levels.

The survey, launched yesterday at Sedqa's offices in the presence of Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina and Education Minister Louis Galea, showed that alcohol remained the substance most widely used by the targeted age group. Maltese youths were also more likely to consume alcohol than many of their peers in Europe.

The survey, carried out in 35 countries across Europe, provides a reliable overview of trends in licit and illicit drug use among adolescents.

The majority of students (94 per cent) reported drinking in their lifetime, 82 per cent said they had consumed it last year, and 75 per cent admitted to consumption last month, which suggests that drinking often persists once it starts.

The report points out that alcohol consumption was initiated at a young age with many students not only drinking frequently but engaging in binge drinking and drinking to the point of intoxication.

Interestingly, the survey points out that although half of the students had engaged in binge drinking in the prior 30 days "only" 20 per cent reported drunkenness within the same timeframe.

"This may be linked to the prolonged drinking hours in Malta. Drinking over a longer period allows time for alcohol to be metabolised," according to the survey.

Discos are the most popular venue where 15 to 16-year-olds buy alcohol, which means that most times the legal drinking age is being flouted.

The survey reveals that 32 per cent of students interviewed had purchased alcohol from a disco on their last drinking occasion.

Another 20 per cent had their last drink at home, 14 per cent at a bar or pub, seven per cent in a restaurant, five per cent on the street, in a park, beach or other open space, while 12 per cent said they never consume alcoholic beverages.

Sedqa research officer Sharon Arpa said that while girls were more likely to drink at home, boys preferred outdoors.

Tobacco is the second most commonly used substance. Although smoking declined by three per cent between 1999 and 2003, smoking initiation persisted despite the frequently exposed health risks.

About half of all students had smoked a cigarette on at least one occasion in their lifetime, just under a third had smoked in the previous 30 days.

Ms Arpa, who compiled the report, said in her conclusion that although the use of illicit and other drugs was more likely to raise public concern than alcohol and tobacco use, the prevalence was much lower.

In Malta, the proportion of students reporting the use of illicit substances remained lower than in many other European countries.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug with 10 per cent of survey respondents having used it and just over four per cent engaging in use during the previous month.

Ms Arpa said that use appeared to be mainly experimental. Marijuana was most commonly cited as the first drug ever tried and most commonly estimated to be used by "some", "most" or "all" friends.

"Traditionally viewed as less problematic than other illicit drugs, marijuana is increasingly raising concerns about its short-term risks and long-term physical and mental health consequences. In addition, adolescents using marijuana at this age are more likely to abuse other drugs in their lifetime," she noted.

The study suggests that alcohol and tobacco use should be targeted from a prevention, legal and policy point of view given their extensive use and effect on health.

This did not, however, negate the need to prevent and curtail the use of other substances. Their relatively low prevalence and apparently experimental nature of use among 15 to 16- year-old students was no justification for complacency.

Commenting on the findings, Ms Cristina spoke of the need for an aggressive education campaign addressed at parents, "responsibilising" young people and enforcing the law.

Ms Cristina said the draft national policy on drugs was undergoing the finishing touches before going public shortly.