Report sees addiction to cannabis up, heroin down

A new report points to an increase in the use of cannabis in Greece along with a significant decrease in that of heroin and other opioids.

The findings of the report, which was carried out by the Greek Documentation and Monitoring Centre for Drugs (EKTEPN) using figures from 2017, were made public on Thursday.

The study found that the number of opioid users in Greece dropped to 14,500 in 2017, compared to 17,000 in 2016 and 24,000 in 2009. A total of 4,283 opioid users entered rehabilitation programs in 2017, 60 percent of whom had previously attempted to quit the drug without success. Three in four of the users cited heroin as their main drug of use.

Overall, opioid addicts accounted for 38.9 percent of new admissions to rehab programs, compared to 46.1 percent for cannabis.

The report found however that admissions for opioid addictions dropped by 35 percent between 2008 and 2017, while those for cannabis addiction increased by 183 percent.