2. Cannabis in Switzerland: The current situation 

2.1 Prevalence of cannabis use 

2.1.1 Development of cannabis use from 1970 to 1998

A number of studies of drug and, more particularly, cannabis use in Switzerland have been carried out since the early 1970s. Not all of them used the same methodology, so the findings are not comparable in strictly scientific terms. However, they do give a good impression of the magnitude of the problem. The term "prevalence" is often used to describe the extent to which a drug is used. It shows how often a drug is consumed during a defined period of time (e. g. the lifetime prevalence is the number of individuals who have used the drug at any time in their life). The consumption of cannabis by Swiss adolescents is not a new phenomenon. As long ago as 1971, the lifetime prevalence of cannabis consumption among 19- year- old men required to enlist for military service in the canton of Zurich was 23.3 percent, and the figure for a comparison population of women was 13.5 percent. At that time 8.2 percent of the men and 3.5 percent of the women had had frequent experience of cannabis (had used it more than ten times). In another study in 1978, also carried out in the canton of Zurich among 19- year- olds, the lifetime prevalence of cannabis consumption was only 19.9 percent for men but 17.2 percent for women. Frequent use (more than ten times) had increased to 8.5 percent among the men and 5.7 percent among the women (Sieber 1988). In a survey of recruits from all parts of Switzerland carried out in 1972/ 73, the lifetime prevalence of cannabis consumption was 20.1 percent, with 5.7 percent claiming frequent use (more than six times) (Battegay et al 1977). An evaluation of the pedagogical examinations of recruits carried out in 1993 showed the lifetime prevalence to be around 44 percent, with frequent use (more than ten times) at 18.5 percent (Wydler et al 1996). 

A written questionnaire distributed by Wydler et al in 1993 showed a 12- month prevalence of 32.1 percent among young men aged 20 and 16.8 percent among women of the same age. The most recent data were compiled during a telephone survey commissioned by the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems (SFA/ SIPA) in February 1998:

Percentage of respondents (N= 1019, excluding Italian- speaking Switzerland) who had used cannabis in the preceding 12 months, February 1998

The written surveys carried out by the SFA/ SIPA among male and female students aged 15 show a clear increase in cannabis consumption between 1986 and 1998. The proportion of 15- year- olds with experience of cannabis more than tripled over the last12- years. In 1986, 2.5 percent reported having used this soft drug once, in 1998 the figure was 8.4 percent. In 1986, 3 percent used hashish or marijuana "occasionally", by 1998 the figure was four- and- a- half times higher (13.8 percent). In 1986, 2.9 percent used cannabis frequently, in 1998, 8.6 percent. A study by Narring et al in 1992/ 93 of the health- related behaviors of young Swiss people aged 15 to 20 largely confirmed the findings of the college study of 15- year- olds. The study showed that above age 18, almost half of young men have used cannabis at least once, although 30 percent of them state that they have only used it once or twice. The figures are around 10 percent lower for women.

Cannabis use is more common among younger people, but a study in 1987 (Fahrenkrug, Müller 1990) showed that 20 percent of people over 34 had used cannabis at some time. As many as 12 percent of those aged 35 to 44 and 5.8 percent of those aged 45 to 54 had also used cannabis at least once in their lifetime. Extrapolated to the entire population, this would mean that some 550,000 people aged between 15 and 74 had used cannabis at that time. According to the Swiss Health Surveys for the years 1992/ 93 and 1997/ 98, the lifetime prevalence for the age group 15 to 39 in Switzerland rose from 16.3 to 26.9 percent during this period. Extrapolated to the entire population of the country, some 685,000 Swiss people between the ages of 15 and 39 in 1998 had used cannabis at some time. An increase is also discernible among current users: in the period 1992/ 93, 4.4 percent of those surveyed were using cannabis products, while in the period 1997/ 98 the corresponding figure was 7.1 percent.

2.1.2 Age at first use

Little information is available on the age at which illegal drugs are first consumed. It is difficult to find such data since most studies provide only data from cross- sectional analyses. Calculations based on survival models for drug users show that the age at which drugs are first consumed has not changed greatly in recent years; it has remained at around 16 (Gmel, Rehm 1996).

2.1.3 International comparison

It is difficult to compare drug use on an international scale because the groups surveyed, the times at which they are surveyed and the types of survey differ so widely between countries. Against this background, the attempt made by Kraus and Bauernfeind (1998) to draw up an international comparison of the lifetime prevalence of cannabis use should be approached with caution. Switzerland ranges in the middle field among the nine countries for which lifetime prevalences are shown in the illustration below; the Scandinavian countries have lower prevalences, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom and Spain have higher figures. One striking feature is the fairly similar overall figures for Spain, West Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, although the cannabis policy in these countries differs considerably (Cattacin, Renschler 1997).

In most European countries there was a slight to moderate increase in the prevalence of cannabis consumption during the 1980s (Kraus, Bauernfeind 1998). However, the report on Europe issued by the WHO in 1997 gives a mixed picture of the trends in cannabis consumption in this region from the early to mid- 90s. The nine western European countries that provided information on trends in cannabis use all reported an increase in consumption, but within these countries the patterns are very different from one region to another.

References

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Cattacin S and Renschler R (1997). Cannabispolitik: Ein Vergleich zwischen 10 Ländern. In: Abhängigkeiten, 5, 31- 43.

Kraus L and Bauernfeind R (1998). Konsumtrends illegaler Drogen in Deutschland: Daten aus Bevölkerungssurveys 1990- 1995. In: Sucht 44 (3) 1998, 169- 182.

Fahrenkrug H and Müller R (1990). Soziale und präventive Aspekte des Drogenproblems unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Schweiz . Commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health. Swiss Office for Alcohol Problems, Lausanne/ University of Lausanne/ DEEP- HEC.

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Müller R (1990). Soziale und präventive Aspekte der Drogenproblems unter spezifischer Berücksichtigung der Schweiz. Commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health. Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems (SIPA).

Müller R (5.8.98), SFA, Der Cannabisgebrauch in der Schweiz. Narring F et al (1994). Die Gesundheit Jugendlicher in der Schweiz. Bericht einer gesamtschweizerischen Studie über Gesundheit und Lebensstil 15- bis 20jähriger. Cahiers de recherches et de documentation. University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne.

Rehm J (1994). Aktuelle Prävalenz des Konsums illegaler Drogen in der Schweiz. Neue Daten aus der Schweizerischen Gesundheitsbefragung 1992/ 93. In: Drogalkohol No. 2/ 94. ISPA- Press, Lausanne.

Sieber M (1988). Zwölf Jahre Drogen. Verlaufsuntersuchung des Alkohol-, Tabak- und Haschischkonsums. Verlag Hans Huber, Bern.

Wydler H et al (1996). Die Gesundheit 20jähriger in der Schweiz. Ergebnisse der PRP 1993. Pädagogische Rekrutenprüfung. Wirtschaftliche Reihe volume 14. Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau and Frankfurt am Main.