A cannabis growing lab in Cyprus

THE PERCENTAGE of cocaine and cannabis users in Cyprus doubled between 2006 and 2009 with more women using, and a hike from zero to 1.6 per cent in the 55-64 age group taking up cannabis, it emerged yesterday.

The statistics were released yesterday in the second annual Pancyprian General Population Survey on Tobacco, Alcohol and other Psychoactive Substances compiled by the Cyprus Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EKTEPN).

The survey randomly sampled 3,500 people, 45 per cent male and 55 per cent female, aged 15 to 64 years, and focused on the nature of the use of cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and LSD between 2006 and 2009.

According to the results, the use of cannabis jumped more than two percentage points between 2006 and 2009 and current use jumped about one percentage point from 1.4 to 2.5 percent.

The survey found that those aged 25 to 34 consume the most cannabis, with those aged 15 to 24 following close behind. The frequency with which these two age groups use cannabis also increased between 2006 and 2009.

Current usage among all age groups was relatively similar with one exception – cannabis use increased among those aged 55 to 64 from 0 percent in 2006 to 1.6 percent in 2009.

“Cannabis is not so fashionable anymore among young people,” said EKTEPN head Neoclis Georgiadis. “The United States and Europe had their [cannabis] peak in the nineties, our peak was in 2004. We are ten years behind Western Europe.”

Recent cocaine use increased from 0.6 per cent in 2006 to 1.2 per cent in 2009. Current use jumped from 0.3 per cent to 0.7 per cent. The Council also studied drug use by gender and found that both sexes increased their usage between 2006 and 2009 although usage among males remains much higher than among females.

Cannabis is still the most popular drug among both sexes, with males increasing their usage from 10.6 percent to 18 percent and females from 2.6 to 5.4 percent between 2006 and 2009.

Cocaine use increased among males from 1.9 percent to 4.8 per cent and among females from 0.4 per cent to 1.3 per cent between 2006 and 2009.

Ecstasy use also increased among both sexes in that time period, with male usage increasing from 2.8 to 3.4 percent and female usage increasing from 0.3 to 0.7 percent.

Smoking and drinking increased among the population as well, notably among 15 to 24 year olds. The percentage of new smokers in that age group jumped from 35.2 per cent in 2006 to 43.1 per cent in 2009. Among those aged 15 to 64 the percentage increased from 34.2 to 39.4 per cent.

The percentage of new drinkers in the 15 to 24 year age group increased dramatically from 49.4 percent in 2006 to 63.4 percent in 2009. Amongst those aged 15 to 64 the increase was not as large but still statistically significant, standing at 50.5 per cent in 2006 versus 55.5 per cent in 2009.

The survey found that despite the general increase in drug use in the three-year time span studied, Cypriots believe that drugs are more difficult to obtain than they once were. 40.6 per cent of the population believed it was “easy or very easy” to obtain cannabis in 2006 but only 34.1 believed it is easy to obtain it in 2009. In addition, 26.7 per cent of the population believed it was easy to obtain cocaine in 2006 as opposed to only 19 per cent believing the same in 2009.

Finally, the survey found that Cyprus ranks 16th out of 25 European countries in its frequency of drug abuse. Italy and Spain rank one and two and Greece ranks second to last at number 24. Drug use was found to be the lowest in Romania.

“[The survey] assesses the effectiveness of current policies established for drug programmes and actions aimed at reducing harm caused by substance addiction,” said Minister of Health Christos Patsalides. “It also provides the opportunity to identify gaps on important information and to identify research needs.”

The information will be used to assess the nature of substance abuse in Cyprus and determine what measures should be taken by decision-makers to combat it.