Prepared by: Jasmina Staroveški Anderlič 
Date of last change: March 2020

Purpose and justification of the indicator

Hemp, or the most commonly used hemp preparations, such as marijuana and hashish, is the most widespread illicit drug among the inhabitants of Slovenia. It contains the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and many other cannabinoids. In recent years, the THC content of cannabis has been increasing, further increasing the health risk among users.
Marijuana or hashish is used more by younger residents of Slovenia (the largest share of users is in the age group from 15 to 34) and by men more than women. Internationally comparable data show that the use of cannabis among young people in Slovenia is high and has been increasing in recent years. Adolescents indicate easy access to cannabis, and a comparatively low proportion assess that regular use of cannabis is harmful. The early start of use, the frequency of use, as well as the THC content in preparations, have the greatest impact on the development of long-term consequences, which can lead to the development of psychosis, addiction diseases, affect academic performance, inclusion in society and affect the subsequent quality of life. There are also significant socio-economic inequalities in cannabis use. It is used by both residents with a higher and lower socio-economic status, but residents with a higher socio-economic status abandon its use to a greater extent.
Hemp is an illegal drug with which most poisonings were associated in Slovenia until 2018. They occur mainly among marijuana users, but also among children and elderly people with chronic diseases. Cannabis is the second most common reason for entering addiction treatment. The use of cannabis also represents a significant risk for safety in traffic and at the workplace. Slovenia is one of the hemp producing countries. Among illicit drugs, it ranks first in terms of the number of seizures and the amount of drug seized. In our country, it is a crime to grow and sell cannabis, provide it or facilitate its use, and the possession of a small quantity for one-time use is considered a misdemeanor. The exception is industrial hemp, for which THC concentration below 0.2% is allowed in EU countries and from which flour, oil, cosmetic preparations, ropes, goods, etc. are made.
In 2014, an amendment to the Regulation on the Classification of Prohibited Drugs enabled the use of cannabinoid-based medicines prescribed by doctors in Slovenia. Marijuana, hashish and hashish oil offered on the black market are not used for treatment in official medicine. If you use them for self-medication, consult your doctor.
Many Slovenian municipalities co-finance programs in the field of illicit drugs and help operators acquire suitable premises for their activities. In some municipalities, local action groups (LAS) are active in the field of addiction prevention, but their number has unfortunately been decreasing in recent years. In addition to a supportive family environment, a positive school environment and appropriate measures by local communities or politicians at the local level also have a great impact on the use of illegal drugs. The role of the latter is primarily to enable, offer and finance spaces and activities where young people can gather and spend time in the form of various activities, with the help of which young people can connect with their peers in a healthy way. More and more research confirms the importance of the organization of free-time youth activities and peer groups for early lifestyle formation.

Definition of indicator

The indicator "Use Proportion of users of marijuana or hashish at any time in their lives among the population aged 15 to 64" describes the percentage of persons aged 15 to 64 who in the National Survey on Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs 2018 answered that have ever used marijuana or hashish in their life. A single use of marijuana or hashish is also considered use. It can be smoking, oral use, etc. The use of cookies with marijuana, bhang, etc. is also considered.

Unit of measure

Calculation of the indicator

The indicator "Usage of marijuana or hashish" shows the ratio of the number of persons who answered "Yes" to the question "Have you ever used marijuana or hashish?" in the National Survey on Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs 2018, and the number of all persons , who answered the questionnaire multiplied by 100.
Marijuana users
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The indicator for the municipality is calculated on the basis of a model that takes into account the prevalence of marijuana or hashish use at the level of the administrative unit and the demographic data of the municipality.

Data sources for Slovenia

National Survey on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs (ATADD), National Institute of Public Health.

Time availability

Data is collected periodically. So far, the research has been carried out in 2011/12 and 2018.

Men in literature

<ol>
<li>Drev A, Hočevar Grom A, Bel&scaron;čak Čolaković A, editor. Situation in the field of illegal drugs in Slovenia 2018. Ljubljana: National Institute for Public Health; 2019 [21.10.2019] Available at: <a href="https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/publikacije-datoteke/npslo_koncna_2018.pdf">https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/publikacije-datoteke/npslo_koncna_2018.pdf</a></li>
<li>Brvar M, editor. Proceedings: Toxicology 2018: Cannabis, 2018 May 18; Ljubljana, Slovenia. In Ljubljana: Slovenian Medical Association, Clinical Toxicology Section: University Clinical Center, Center for Clinical Toxicology and Pharmacology; 2018.</li>
<li>Koprivnikar H, Zorko M, Drev A, Hovnik Ker&scaron;manc A, Kvaternik I, Macur M, editor. The use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs among the inhabitants of Slovenia and the inequalities and combinations of these uses. Ljubljana: National Institute of Public Health; 2015 [21.10.2019] Available at: <a href="https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/publikacije-datoteke/uporaba_tobaka_alkohola_in_drog.pdf">https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/publikacije-datoteke/uporaba_tobaka_alkohola_in_drog.pdf</a></li>
<li>Leaflet Use of cannabis in medicine, informative material. Ljubljana: National Institute of Public Health, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia; 2014 [21.10.2019] Available at: https://www.nijz.si/sl/publikacije/uporaba-konoplje-v-medicini</li>
<li>4.5. National survey on tobacco, alcohol and other drugs 2018. Available at: <a href="https://www.nijz.si/sl/podatki/nacionalna-raziskava-o-tobaku-alkoholu-in-drugih-drogah">https://www.nijz.si/sl/podatki/nacionalna-raziskava-o-tobaku-alkoholu-in-drugih-drogah</a></li>
</ol>

Notes

The survey includes persons aged 15 to 64 living in private households (not institutionalized). The survey does not cover persons under 15 years of age and over 64 years of age who may have already used marijuana or hashish.
Data from the ATADD survey are not age standardized.

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