Prevalence of Past-Month Drug Use in Norway

"The findings on drug use are based partly on positive findings from urine tests and partly on reported use during the last 30 days. The levels are overall quite similar to 2012. A proportion of 10 per cent reported having used an illegal morphine substance during the past month, 33 per cent cannabis, 16 per cent stimulants and as many as 42 per cent benzodiazepines. This figure includes both prescribed and non-prescribed benzodiazepines. Twenty-five per cent of all patients report having been prescribed the drug by a doctor. In other words, the others must have used illegal sources. There is a clear tendency for high levels of illegal use among patients in units where a lot of medicinal drugs are prescribed. This means that there is nothing to indicate that legal prescription reduces illegal use.

"The situation was also measured by calculating the overall score for frequency of drug use and the severity of ongoing use during the past month. Forty-one per cent had not used illicit substances at all, 12 per cent only sporadically, while 38 per cent reported frequent use. This means that the proportion who use illegal substances regularly has increased from 2012, when 28 per cent reported such use. (SERAF, 2014)."