Contrast the situation in Holland where
cannabis can be used openly with that elsewhere. The Dutch separate cannabis from hard
drugs, which the Dutch believe has helped them reduce the number of people per capita
there using hard drugs below the number in Britain and France and indeed below the
European average.
|
Number
of Addicts |
Inhabitants
(millions) |
Per 1000 of
population |
| Netherlands |
25,000 |
15.1 |
1.6 |
| Germany |
100,000/120,000 |
79.8 |
1.3/1.5 |
| Belgium |
17,500 |
10.0 |
1.8 |
| Luxembourg |
2,000 |
0.4 |
5.0 |
| France |
135,000/150,000 |
57.0 |
2.4/2.6 |
| United Kingdom |
150,000 |
57.6 |
2.6 |
| Denmark |
10,000 |
5.1 |
2.0 |
| Sweden |
13,500 |
8.6 |
1.6 |
| Norway |
4,500 |
4.3 |
1.0 |
| Switzerland |
26,500/45,000 |
6.7 |
4.0/6.7 |
| Austria |
10,000 |
7.8 |
1.3 |
| Italy |
175,000 |
57.8 |
3.0 |
| Spain |
120,000 |
39.4 |
3.0 |
| Greece |
35,000 |
10.1 |
3.5 |
| Portugal |
45,000 |
10.0 |
4.5 |
| Ireland |
2,000 |
3.5 |
0.6 |
Sources: Bosman and Van Es (1993); Bless, Korf, Freeman, Urban drug policies in
Europe 1993 (1993); WHO regional office for Europe, European summary on drug abuse, first
report: 1985-1990 (1992); Commission of the European Communities, Second Report on drug
demand reduction in the European Community (1992); Bossong (1994); Van Cauwenberghe et al.
1993 (Belgium).
Thanks to the UKCIA, the British cannabis organization for this data.
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