Prevalence Among Youth, by Gender and Substance

"Generally the lifetime prevalence rates are significantly higher among boys and in older age groups. The exceptions are the use of ecstasy and the misuse of medicines. In the case of the former the age-related patterns do not appear significantly, while in the case of the latter the prevalence of use is the same in both grades among boys and girls.
"In respect of cannabis use there was a difference of about 10 percentage points between the prevalence rates in the two grades, for both genders. Similar differences were experienced in respect of the misuse of medicines too.
"Last year prevalence of cannabis use was 15.8%. Significantly more frequent use could be experienced among boys, similarly to the lifetime prevalence rates. Experimental use was the most common – on 1-2 occasions in the previous year – in the case of both genders (boys: 8.5%, girls: 7.6%).
"Last month prevalence of cannabis was 9.2%. Among them those who used herbal cannabis or cannabis resin on 1-5 occasions in the last 30 days more or less covered the social-recreational group of users who use drugs on weekends and at parties. The majority of pupils using drugs in the last month can be classed in this category.
"In the case of the two most commonly used drugs, cannabis and medicines, majority of the users (62.5% of cannabis users, 72.8% of those who misuse medicines) have already tried other drugs in their lives too. In this respect there was no significant difference between the two grades. Concerning cannabis use there was no significant difference between the two genders (boys 61.6%, girls 64.1%) either, while in the case of the misuse of medicines a significantly higher proportion of boys have tried other drugs too (83.6% of boys, 62.5% of girls)."