Trends In Illicit Substance Use By Young People In the European Union

"In general, between 1995 and 2003, the lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use increased and then stabilised at 19 % until 2015, when it began to decline, reaching 14 % in 2024. Lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use among girls has always been about 5–6 percentage points lower than among boys, but in 2024 there was only a 2-percentage point difference due to a smaller decrease among girls. (Figure 20). As cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug, the trend for lifetime cannabis use is similar to the overall trend for use of any illicit drug, with rates of the former being only slightly lower across all years (Table 15). The lifetime prevalence rate of cannabis use among boys peaked in 2003, remained stable until 2011, and began to decline thereafter. The lifetime prevalence rate of cannabis use among girls peaked in 2003 and then stabilised, registering a slower decrease than that among boys in 2024 (Figure 21). Current (last 30 days) cannabis use rates peaked in 2011 and then stabilised, with similar gender differences in all years, but a drop between 2019 and 2024 was observed for boys and girls (Table 15 and Figure 22).

"Lifetime use of illicit drugs other than cannabis peaked in 2007 (Table 15). After that, the rate declined gradually until 2015 and then stabilised. The same trend is observed among boys and girls, with a gender gap of 1–2 percentage points in all years (Figure 23)."