Cannabis use among young people in Norway increases for the first time in ten years

CannabisPhoto: GRAS GRÜN / Unsplash

Norwegian health authorities now see an increased use of cannabis among 15–16-year-olds. Fewer people believe that such narcotics are dangerous.

“After about ten years of fairly stable use of cannabis in the youth group of 15 to 16 years, we now see that there has been an increase,” senior researcher at the Department of Drugs and Tobacco at the National Institute of Public Health Elin Kristin Bye told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).

From 2007 to 2015, approximately 6.2% of young people tried cannabis. 

In 2019, the share was 8.7%.

More exposure

Bye believes the increase may be related to the fact that the drug has been talked about, used, and shown in several TV series.

“The earlier you start using cannabis and the more often you do it, the greater the risk. 

“The use of cannabis among such young people is unfortunate because the brain is still developing at that age, and it’s more vulnerable to the intoxicating substance THC,” Bye said.

New campaign

The health authorities are launching a new campaign on Tuesday to reach young people with information about cannabis. 

They have created the website Wedeensenteret, and made information videos that will be published on Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube.

Linda Granlund, division director for public health and prevention in the Norwegian Directorate of Health, said it was very important for the directorate that the information young people receive is credible.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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