Here’s something for you that you don’t hear too many politicians in either the UK or Spain talking about.
In my home country, the Netherlands, soft drug purchase and usage is completely legal.
It also happens to have the lowest hard drug addiction rate of any OECD country. (OECD figures)
Personally, I happen to think the two factors are related. That the rest of the Western world tends to bury its head in the sand when trying to deal with the issue of drugs and that this only exacerbates the problem.
I could also go on about how NL has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate of any EU country (EU figures) and that this stems from a very open and frank attitude towards sex and its education. That may however be straying away from the subject. 😀
It is actually a much more complex picture than the headlines suggest. The UK does indeed top the ‘use in a lifetime’ list for cocaine and amphetamines. Denmark tops the list for cannabis and the Czech Republic takes the gong for ecstasy. However if you look at the figures for the last year, which is probably a more accurate picture of the current situation, the UK doesn’t register top of any of the lists.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use the website you agree to our use of cookies. You can find out more here. Accept
Cookies
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.