Hemp keeps the favors of the French.
This year again, cannabis remains the most consumed illicit drug in France by nearly one in ten adults.
This is what reveals a study by the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) published on Thursday.
In 2020, 11% of French people aged 18 to 64 reported having used cannabis during the year.
A stable figure since the last study which covered the year 2016.
Teenagers are particularly fond of this illicit drug.
At 17 years old, more than 40% of them indicate having consumed it during the year, as in 2016. Among 18-24 year olds, they are almost 26%.
The figure decreases with age and only concerns about 2% among 55-64 year olds.
The joint remains the most common form of cannabis use, in 94% of cases.
Some prefer to vape it (2.3%) or ingest it in the form of food or infusion (2.2%).
The hookah and the "bong" remain uncommon (less than 1%).
61% of users consume the herb of the plant, while 37% prefer the resin.
In 95% of cases, they are not taken pure but mixed with tobacco
Consumers are mostly men
The profile of smokers reveals, moreover, a male prevalence: 15% of men are concerned, against 7.5% of women.
The OFDT indicates an evolution among cannabis users since 1992 with on the one hand an "increase in the proportion of women who have already consumed cannabis", and on the other hand "an aging of users in the year who are more and more often in their thirties and forties ”.
The number of regular users (at least ten drinks per month) is down slightly, "from 3.6% in 2017 to 3.2% in 2020".
More generally, nearly half of French people (46%) admit to having used cannabis in their lifetime.
According to the OFDT, this figure is "stable since 2017".
Read also France, leader in cannabis consumption in Europe
France is the country with the most cannabis consumers among the countries of the European Union, where the proportion of those who have already smoked it is on average 27%.
The OFDT study does not specify the consumption of other drugs.