Pubdate: Fri, 22 Aug 2014
Source: Irish Times, The (Ireland)
Page: 7
Copyright: 2014 The Irish Times
Contact:  http://www.irishtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/214
Author: Colin Gleeson

EU SURVEY REVEALS VIEWS ON DRUGS

More than half of young Irish people think cannabis should be
regulated, according to a new EU survey.

The Eurobarometer survey was carried out by telephone for the European
Commission between June 3rd and 23rd. There were 500 Irish
participants among 13,130 interviewees across Europe.

It focused on young Europeans and dealt with levels of drug use,
perceived risk of certain substances, as well as opinions on
regulating drugs and dealing with drug problems in society.

The survey found some 56 per cent of young Irish people believe
cannabis should be regulated, an increase of 15 per cent since the
last survey in 2011.

The number who consider regular cannabis use to be dangerous was down
6 per cent to 46 per cent. This compared to 63 per cent of young Europeans.

The survey also found 16 per cent of young Irish people had used
cannabis in the last 30 days, a rise of 7 per cent. The same
percentage had used cannabis in the EU in the last 30 days.

'Designer drugs' More than one in five young Irish people had used
"designer drugs" in the last 30 days , an increase of 6 per cent.

Some 53 per cent of young Europeans said cannabis should be banned,
compared to 43 per cent of young Irish people, which was a decrease of
9 per cent.

Opinions on the banning of Class A substances such as heroin, cocaine
and ecstasy were similar across Irish and European youths, with some
90 per cent in favour.

Asked whether regular alcohol intake was dangerous, 57 per cent of
young Europeans said yes, compared with 42 per cent of young Irish
people  a rise of 11 per cent.

Some 23 per cent of young Irish people said tobacco should be banned.
This was an increase of 6 per cent, and was 7 per cent higher than the
EU average.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D