Retsudvalget 2013-14
REU Alm.del Bilag 408
Offentligt
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Cannabis in the EU
A persistent and
resilient market
Characteristics, uses and consequences
Danilo Ballotta - 22 September 2014
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Shares of cannabis products consumed in
Europe:
Mainly cannabis herb
>=80 %
60-79 %
Mainly cannabis resin
>=80 %
55-79 %
Neither prevailing
resin nor herb (50/50)
2 050 tonnes
the total quantity of
cannabis estimated to be
consumed in Europe
5–25 EUR/g -
street price
3–14 % THC
average
46 % THC (MAX)
2
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European production of Cannabis
Domestic production up
Innovation
Cultivation of
plants high in THC
Potency increases for
herb and recently resin
3
3
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European Cannabis production
8000
Seizures: Number of Cannabis Plants
7000
Quantitiy seized (x000 Plants)
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Other
France
Greece
Belgium
Poland
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Germany
Italy
4
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Cannabis seizures:
Predominance of cannabis type, resin or herb, in number of seizures
500
450
400
Number of seizures (x000)
350
300
250
200
150
Resin (EU28)
Herbal (EU28)
Resin (EU28 TR NO)
Herbal (EU28 TR NO)
100
50
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
5
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Cannabis: Europe’s most commonly used illicit
drug
73.6 million adults
ever
used cannabis (>20% 15-
64)
18 million adults used
last
year
(> 5% 15-64)
(15 Millions 15-34y -11%)
9 million adults have used
in the
last month
6
6
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Daily Use
1% young adults
(15-34) use daily
(> 20d./month)
7
7
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Substance use among 15-16 years old in Europe
Any alcohol last month
Use of cigarettes last month
In 2011 one in four used an illicit drugs. Cannabis 24% ever; 20% year; 12% month
Majority ‘once or twice’ – 2% used 10 times in the month prior to the survey
8
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Lifetime use of cannabis in school students 15-16y old
9
9
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Upward trends in DK,
FI, IT, SW
UK, ES downwards
trend
IT
ES
FR
DE
FI
UK
BG
SW
DK
FR, DE, Stable trends
10
10
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Cannabis-related health consequences
Cannabis-related
emergencies —
a growing problem in
high-prevalence
countries
Synthetic cannabinoids
—
new dimension
Use limited, but can be
highly potent
11
11
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Cannabis-related legal consequences
1.2m drug offences were reported in EU in 2012, of
which about 80% involved cannabis
Total
Possession
Supply
Total
993,000
241,000
1,235,000
Cannabis
775,000 (78%)
142,000 (59%)
917,000 (74%)
Other
219,000 (22%)
99,000 (41%)
318,000 (26%)
18.5% of sentenced prisoners in EU were sentenced
for drug offence
Cannabis also dominates EU seizures (80%)
Source: EMCDDA, 2014
12
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Cannabis in Europe
Persistent and resilient
Consolidated position in the market illicit drugs
Widely available to and affordable to consumers
Variety in potency (health concerns)
Large economic assets (2M.kg/year)
Controversies and contradictions
(lower risks/low priority for law enforcement
80% of seizures and 80% of police arrests)