The survey on alcohol and other drug consumption habits has interesting results

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 05. 22. 11:10

Among young people in Europe, Czech fifteen- to sixteen-year-olds have the most experience with marijuana use, according to an international survey published by the CTK news agency.

Research conducted in 2024 as part of the European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drug Use (ESPAD) project showed that 24 percent of Czech young people aged 15-16 have tried marijuana at least once. This is an average of 11 percent in Europe.

In the most recent survey year, 2024, 18.7 percent of boys and 19.3 percent of girls among Czech young people aged 15-16 have used marijuana at least once. According to experts, this means that the use of this drug is still high, but is already decreasing in the Czech Republic. The 24 percent rate is the level of the second half of the nineties, when many young Czechs tried drugs after the change of regime, and marijuana was particularly popular. Between 2003 and 2011, almost half of young Czechs tried marijuana at least once, but since then this rate has been decreasing – the news agency reports on the details of surveys and research conducted over the past three decades.

The Czech Republic has been an open social debate about marijuana use for a long time. A few years ago, the free use of marijuana for medical purposes was allowed, but doctors must issue a prescription. It is not illegal to use or grow hemp in certain quantities for personal use either.

A total of 113,900 young people from 37 countries in Europe were included in the surveys conducted in 2024. In the Czech Republic, 2,977 young people reported on their habits.