29/11/2007 00:00:00
Germany: Drug consumption down in Germany
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Consumption of cannabis and other illegal drugs dropped in Germany for
the first time in years, the German government commissioner for
drug-related affairs, Sabine Baetzing announced here Tuesday.
Addressing the media at a news conference at the health ministry,
Baetzing said there was an 'overall downward trend' in the consumption
of drugs.
She cited 'better preventive' programs in the area of tobacco and
cannabis consumption as part of the reason for the declining figures.
According to a government report on the drug situation in Germany, the
number of people, aged between 18 and 39, who use illegal drugs, slipped
from 12.2 percent in 2003 to 9.6 percent last year.
The number of drug-related death cases stood at 1,296 people which is
the lowest level since 1989.
The survey pointed out that around one-fourth of Germans has had some
kind of experience with illegal drugs in their life-time.
The portion of adults who consumed drugs over the past 12 months fell to
five percent, while only 30 percent used narcotics over the last 30 days.
Meanwhile, around 179,000 drug-related offences were recorded last year,
indicating an eight percent decrease from 2005.
In terms of market price for illegal drugs, only slight changes were
reported between 2005 and 2006.
http://mathaba.net/news/?x=572549
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13050
Author:
Mathaba via UKCIA
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