More and more people have also tried other drugs, although the numbers are significantly lower than cannabis. 7% of the population reported having tried amphetamine at some point in their life, 6% ecstasy and 5% cocaine. The use of performance-enhancing drugs has remained unchanged, with only 1% of the population reporting having tried them.
However, drug use is usually limited to one or a few uses, and the fact that more and more people aged 15-69 have tried drugs at some point in their lives is not surprising. This is because the study only looks at people between the ages of 15 and 69 at the time of data collection, and older age groups with less experience with drugs fall out of the sample over time.
Attitudes towards the risks associated with the use of cannabis have also softened, and 57% of respondents believe that trying cannabis once or twice has only a small health or other risk. 20% agreed with the risks associated with regular cannabis use. For the first time in the history of research, more people believe that the risks associated with regular cannabis use are only minimal compared to those who believe that there are only minimal risks associated with weekly heavy drinking.
The survey also showed that attitudes towards the criminalization of drug use have become milder, with 29% of respondents in favor of decriminalizing all drug use, up 9 percentage points from 2018. 53% of the population would not punish the use of cannabis.
According to the research professor Pekka Hakkarainen From the Institute of Health and Welfare, “opinions about the criminalization of drug use are clearly changing. This corresponds to the international debate, which advocates more and more social and healthcare measures to combat drug use.”
Overall, the survey shows that drug use in Finland continues to grow, and cannabis is the most common drug. It also suggests that attitudes towards the risks and criminalization of drug use are changing, as more and more people support the decriminalization of drug use and consider the risks associated with cannabis use to be minimal.
HT
Source: The Nordic Page