Cannabis Trend Among Youth

Cannabis Trend Among Youth

While the use of Class A drugs is declining in Britain, cannabis is gaining popularity among the under 25 age group.The number of young people needing treatment for serious problems caused by cannabis has increased by 11% in 4 years.



The number of young adults aged 18 to 24 coming into treatment in Britain during 2009-10 fell sharply for every drug except cannabis. 4,400 under-25s had cannabis as their main drug, accounting for 29% of all new treatment cases among this age group in 2009-10, compared to 18% (or nearly 3,300) four years previously. Many were referred to treatment either by their families or psychiatric services.

The increasing popularity of cannabis was one of the changing patterns of drug use and drug dependency in Britain revealed byNHS National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse in their annual report.

New user patterns

The average heroin user is getting increasingly older. Young adults are more likely to to turn to poly drug use (using many various substances) than heroin. Overall the 18-24 age group show the most dramatic fall in presentations to treatment for heroin, powder cocaine and crack.

However, the NHS is concerned that the report does not reflect the use of "legal high" substances. Drugs services report instances of users reporting serious problems with mephedrone and other synthetic stimulants. However, the overall number of people seeking treatment for addiction to these substances remains extremely low, making it very difficult to determine the severity of the trend towards the use of "legal high" substances.

 Successful treatment

The good news is that young adults respond well to treatment. A range of talking therapies (known in the trade as psychosocial interventions) is used in treating under-25s for cannabis. Many of these young adults are aged 18 and 19, and so won’t have been using long or intensively enough to warrant treatment for dependency. In these cases, treatment will focus more on the impact their drug use is having on their family and other relationships, and on education or employment.

Most of the cannabis users in this age group do well in treatment. According to TOP data, on average they reduce their use of the drug by almost half, with nearly 40% of this group becoming abstinent within six months of starting treatment.



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