Cannabis and Drug Helplines – Data from the FESAT Monitoring System Björn Hibell Presented at the conference Taking a Call on Cannabis – Drug Helpline’s Response Lisbon 1-2 October, 2007

FESAT Monitoring Project 13 data collections 2 data collections per year Changes during the last 6 months March 2007 covering the last 6 months of 2006 Report distributed in June Extra questions related to cannabis

Most frequent contacts 15 helplines

Contacts: Average proportions Cannabis25 %(7-52) Heroin20 %(3-70) Cocaine14 %(0-44) Alcohol13 %(0-48) Others13 %(0-40) Ecstasy 5 %(0-15) Amphetamines 5 %(0-20) Benzodiazepines 4 %(0-20) GHB/GBL 1 %(0-6)

Contacts: Number 1 rankings Cannabis8 Heroin2 (Gr, Gr) Others2 (Au, Fi) Cocaine1 (It) Alcohol1 (La) Amphetamines1 (Fi)

Contacts: Average ranking (9 – 1) Cannabis8.2 Alcohol5.9 Cocaine5.8 Heroin5.4 Others5.0 Amphetamines4.5 Ecstasy4.1 Benzodiazepines3.5 GHB/GBL2.9

Most important increases in helplines

Increases: Ranking (3 – 1) Cocaine(1.7) Alcohol(1.2) Cannabis(1.2) Heroin(0.8) Amphetamines(0.4) Benzodiazepines(0.2) GHB/GBL(0.2) Others(0.2) Ecstasy(0.1)

Increases: Number 1 rankings Cocaine5 (Gr, Ir, It, No, Po) Cannabis3 (Be, Ge, Ne) Heroin2 (Fi, Gr) Alcohol1 (Be) Amphetamines1 (Fi)

Most important decreases in helplines

Decreases: Ranking (3 – 1) Ecstasy(1.5) Cannabis(0.7) Heroin(0.6) Others(0.6) GHB/GBL(0.5) Amphetamines(0.3) Benzodiazepines(0.3) Cocaine(0.2) Alcohol(0.0)

Decreases: Number 1 rankings Ecstasy4 (Gr, It, Ne, Po) Cannabis3 (Be, Fi, Gr) Heroin2 (Cy, Ir) GHB/GBL1 (Ge) Others1 (No)

Who calls about cannabis? 17 helplines

Callers: Ranking (10 - 1) Parents(9.5) Users (8.5) Partners(7.4) Relatives(7.1) Friends(5.8) Professionals(5.5) Others (4.0) Students(3.3) Teachers(2.9) Media(2.1)

Callers: Number 1 rankings Parents11 Users5 (Au, Ge, Ne, No, Po) Partners1 (Ma)

Cannabis related subjects 15 helplines

Cannabis subjects: Ranking (11 - 1) General effects(9.6) Length of time it is detectable (8.5) Mental health implications(8.3) Advise/Support(8.1) Seeking treatment(7.5) Physical health implications(7.0) Legal implications (6.2) Cannabis as gateway drug(5.9) Route of administration(5.0) Contamination(4.2) Others(1.9)

Cannabis subjects: Number 1 rankings General effects4 (Fi, Ge, Gr, Ne) Length of time it is detectable 4 (Gr, La, Ma, Po) Advise/Support3 (Cy, Ir, No) Seeking treatment2 (Be, It) Mental health aspects1 (Fi)

Advise/Support90 %, 55 % Treatment70 %, 31 % Length of time it is detectable 36 % Dominant cannabis questions

Cannabis in general8 Hashish and/or marihuana8 No geographical pattern Communication subjects (16 helplines)

Cannabis attitudes 9 helplines

a)Three years ago b)Today Average cannabis user Average partner Average parent Average social worker Average police officer Cannabis attitude scale from 1 (very negative) to 10 (very positive) for average callers

Average user6.1(10-3) Average social worker4.3(5-2) Average partner4.1(6-1) Average parent2.6(4-1) Average police officer2.5(4-1) Attitudes on the “negative side” for all categories but users Cannabis attitudes 2007 (10 - 1)

Average user- 0.9 ( ) Average police officer- 0.6 ( ) Average parent- 0.6 ( ) Average social worker- 0.5 ( ) Average partner- 0.4 ( ) Attitudes have become more negative Cannabis attitudes: Changes over 3 years

Summary 1 (2) Cannabis is the most common subject (25 %), followed by heroin (22 %). Heroin dominants in Greece. Increased number of questions mainly about cocaine, alcohol and cannabis. Decreased number of questions mainly about ecstasy, cannabis and heroin. Most important callers are parents and users. Most important cannabis subjects are general effects and length of time cannabis is detectable in urine/blood.

Summary 2 (2) Some subjects dominates (heavily) at some helplines. Cannabis users have the most positive attitudes to cannabis and police officers the most negative. Attitudes to cannabis on the “negative side” for all groups but users. Attitudes to cannabis have become more negative during the last three years.