Cannabis addiction up but Holland has fewer heavy drinkers

The number of people considered to be addicted to cannabis tripled between 2000 and 2010, according to addiction institute Trimbos on Monday.

In 2000, 3,534 people were treated for cannabis addiction but the total rose to nearly 11,000 by 2010. Of them, 40% were under the age of 25 and a similar proportion have problems with other drugs, Trimbos said in its latest National Drugs Monitor.
While most users of sleeping pills and tranquilisers are over the age of 65, the survey also shows 9% of 15 and 16-year-olds have been given such medication by their doctor at some point. A similar percentage of young teenagers have used tranquilisers without a prescription.
Trimbos also says the Netherlands has some 1.4 million people who are classified as heavy drinkers, or 10% of the over-12s. That is down on 2001, when 14% of the population were said to drink too much.
At the same time, the proportion of heavy smokers, defined as people who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, has fallen from 6.3% in 2009 to 4.9% in 2010.
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