Teenage cannabis use on the rise in developing countries

A new study has revealed that the use of cannabis among teens is on the rise in relationship between societal and family affluence.

According to the report, the usage appears to be changing, as it is declining in rich countries but stable or increasing in developing countries.

The study, which looked at cannabis use among 15-year-old adolescents in thirty European and North American countries in 2002, 2006, and 2010 found that there was a significant decline in cannabis use.

According to the study, affluent countries in Western and Southern Europe and North America (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, USA) showed a decrease in frequent cannabis consumption among 15-year-old boys and/or girls.

But the emerging market countries that have recently experienced a rapid increase in their GDP showed stable or increasing cannabis use.

In three of the twelve former communist countries in Eastern, Central, and Southern Europe, cannabis use increased among boys (FYR Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and in one, it increased among girls (Russia).

In the remaining nine countries, cannabis use among 15-year-olds appears to have stabilized over time.

The study also showed that adolescents from less affluent countries seem to have adopted consumption patterns consistent with their peers in richer countries.

The study has been published in the scientific journal Addiction.