Maltese youngsters consider heroin and cocaine to be relatively easy to obtain compared to most other EU member states, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey about young people's attitudes towards drugs.
Only 44 per cent of Maltese respondents said that cocaine is difficult to obtain, while 33 per cent said it is easy and 13 per cent said they do not know.
A slim majority (53 per cent) of Maltese respondents said it would be difficult to acquire heroin, with 33 per cent saying it would be fairly or very easy, and 15 per cent saying they do not know.
Access to heroin seems to be easier in only two other EU countries - Lithuania and Bulgaria, and more difficult in all other states, especially Finland and France.
The study, which was carried out in May with 15-24 year olds, places Malta in third place when it comes to ease of access to cocaine, following Ireland and Spain.
Another section of the survey dealt with the perceived health risks posed by each individual drug including alcohol and tobacco.
Malta's young people are the least among other EU member states to think cocaine poses a serious health risk.
Along with the UK respondents, 20 per cent of the Maltese believe that cocaine only poses a medium risk to a person's health.
In contrast, 52 per cent of Maltese young people perceive cannabis to be very risky, making Malta the fifth ranking country in the EU to fear cannabis.
Malta is the third most fearless, however, when it comes to tobacco and alcohol with only 19 per cent of young people thinking that tobacco poses a high health risk, and only 11 per cent thinking the same of alcohol.
Malta places fifth for ease of access to ecstasy, with 49 per cent saying it is very or fairly easy to obtain.
But the trend changes when it comes to cannabis, with Malta placing more centrally in the table with a substantial 38 per cent saying cannabis is very or fairly difficult to acquire.
This can be compared to countries like Spain and Czech Republic, where only 15 and 17 per cent respectively said there was any difficulty in obtaining the soft drug.
Surprisingly, in the Netherlands where cannabis can be bought from coffee shops, 17 per cent of the young respondents said that acquiring cannabis is very difficult.
The survey also shows the Maltese to have most faith in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug users, with 20 per cent saying it is the most effective way to deal with drug problems in society.
Thirty-seven per cent think that the most effective measure is to be tough with drug dealers and traffickers, whereas 35 per cent believe mostly in information and prevention campaigns.
Nine per cent propose legalisation to deal with the drug problems of society, compared to only four per cent who think that tough measures against drug users are the most effective.
Malta featured low in the ranks of those who want hard drugs to continue to be banned, with a relatively high percentage (six per cent) wanting heroin, cocaine and ecstasy to be regulated similarly to tobacco and alcohol.
Higher still is the percentage (17 per cent) of those who believe cannabis should not be banned - although this percentage is relatively low compared to the rest of the EU member states.
According to seven per cent of Maltese young people, alcohol should be banned, whereas 12 per cent think the same of tobacco.
Like the vast majority of Europeans, most Maltese young people tend to search for information about illicit drugs and drug use via the internet.
But a high percentage of Maltese also seek advice from specialised drugs counsellors or centres, as well as parents and relatives.
The percentage of Maltese young people who ask friends for advice about drugs was lower than the majority of the EU member states.
Fifty-nine per cent of Maltese respondents said they were informed, about the effects and risks of illicit drug use, by media campaigns - the highest percentage in all EU member states. Other informative channels for Maltese young people include the internet and school prevention programmes.
The results of the survey, which was carried out by the European Commission, emerged through telephone interviews conducted with 12,000 young people from the 27 EU member states.
In Malta 250 young people took part in the survey, ensuring a representative sample.