It is followed by Italy, with six, and Britain and Spain with five. According to the annual report, State of Drugs in the EU, cannabis is now the most widely available and commonly used drug. The Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said that at least 45m Europeans had now tried it, up 5m from more than a year ago. But in remarks that will have resonance for debate in the UK, he warned that prison was not the answer. If you slap people in prison for having a small amount of cannabis for their own use, after a few years you choke the prisons.
Prisons are overcrowded, so they share cells with people who have done much worse.
Ecstasy and amphetamines were the second most popular recreational drugs, with use of the former showing signs of stabilising, or even falling, while the latter could still be on the rise. Although Britain heads the list for cannabis use over the past 12 months, Denmark is top of the table for taking the drug over the past decade. There is a significant rise in drug use, often in conjunction with heavy alcohol consumption. Abuse of lighter fuel, aerosols and glue is often more common among children than amphetamines and ecstasy and is increasing in some countries. Cocaine is less commonly used than either amphetamines or ecstasy, but its use is still rising and spreading to a broader population.