UK: As cannabis use rises in much of Europe, Britons lose interest

IN 2000 a report published by Europe’s drug agency (EMCDDA) found that Britain had an unusually large number of young cannabis users: they “topped the EU league”, as one British paper spun it. This year’s report, published on June 4th, showed that in the past 15 years the tables have turned. While the number of 15- to 34-year-olds using pot has risen or held steady in most countries, in England and Wales it has almost halved (see chart). Why?

One possible explanation, says Alex Stevens, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Kent, is the rise in Britain of high-strength “skunk”, which is grown domestically, and the decline of cannabis resin, which is milder, and mostly brought in from north Africa. Britain’s domestic pot production is booming: the number of growing operations seized more than doubled between 2007 and 2009, overtaking the Netherlands...

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http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21653630-cannabis-use-rises-much-europe-britons-lose-interest-weeded-out