A report by ICAD reveals that daily cannabis consumption among young people in Portugal is less than 1%.

The Institute for Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (ICAD) published its report on December 2nd. "Study on the Consumption of Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs and other Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies Portugal 2024"In this survey, which analyzed the habits and behaviors of 11.083 students aged 13 to 18, in 329 schools, It was found that the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances decreased. Cannabis remains the preferred illicit substance among young people, but daily (or almost daily) consumption is negligible: less than 1% in the age groups analyzed. However, another type of addiction is increasing significantly among the youth population: gambling and electronic games. 

According to the summary published by ICAD on the report's presentation page, "the data shows good news, in line with national data: alcohol, tobacco and drug consumption has decreased in all regions, while there is a growing trend in gambling and electronic gaming compared to 2019 [date of the last study presented], posing new challenges."

However, researchers Elsa Lavado and Vasco Calado point to recurring regional problems: “In general, this edition of the study confirms what has been concluded from this and other studies that ICAD periodically conducts with the youth population, namely, that Alentejo, Algarve and the Azores are the regions that stand out for a higher prevalence of addictive behaviors among young people in general, and public school students in particular, while the North and Madeira stand out in the opposite direction.” 

Even so, they note that it is necessary to look at the data in more detail, since prevalence is one thing and frequency of use/consumption is another. "The picture depends on what is being considered, because even regions that tend to have higher prevalence rates than the national average still register lower values ​​in relation to certain indicators," they explain.

Upon closer inspection, it was found that The Algarve has the highest rate of experimentation with illicit substances (12%), as well as recent consumption (9%), while the North has the lowest rates (5% and 4%, respectively). However, these consumption patterns are more prevalent in the Alentejo (5%) and less frequent in Madeira, the North, and the Azores (2%).

The national total for experimentation with these substances stands at 7.6%; while recent consumption is at 6.2% and current consumption is at 2.9%.

Compared to the previous study, published in 2019, the difference between the region with the highest prevalence and the region with the lowest prevalence has increased, "a fact that becomes even more relevant considering that globally the values ​​have decreased, some considerably," they conclude.

As specified in the explanation of the methodology used, 11.083 students were surveyed, totaling 758 classes in 329 schools. And “in mainland Portugal, more female students were surveyed than male students (more markedly in Lisbon and less so in the North), while in the Autonomous Regions the opposite is true”. Regarding ages, the proportion of older students (16-18 years) was slightly higher than that of younger students (13-15 years).

Alcohol is the most widely used substance in the entire country.

Across the country, alcohol is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance among the school-age population. Many students drink to experiment (58%), and for many, this occurred less than 12 months ago (48.3%), reducing the number of young people who consumed alcohol in the last 30 days to just over half.

The Alentejo region has the highest rates of alcohol consumption (40%), both among students who consumed alcohol in the last month and in terms of episodic binge drinking (30%) and severe intoxication (27%). "Comparing the different regions, it is observed that Alentejo registers the highest prevalence of consumption of all types of alcoholic beverages, well above the respective national totals," say the authors.

Madeira, on the other hand, has the lowest consumption rates, with 11% reporting recent poisoning.

Tobacco use is second on the list.

Tobacco is the second most consumed substance, with the Alentejo region leading in prevalence – showing more than double the consumption of the Northern region. We are talking about a current national average consumption of 10.4%, which rises to 17.2% in the Alentejo and 12.3% in Lisbon, slightly above the Algarve (10.3%). The lowest rate was observed in the Northern region, where only 7.8% stated they used tobacco.

In Lisbon, however, the highest consumption of shisha and heated tobacco was recorded (6.2%), in contrast to the Azores (2.1%) and Madeira (1,9%), which had the lowest rates.

Among illicit substances, cannabis remains the most popular.

Cannabis is the most commonly experimented with and consumed illicit substance across all regions (6.6% and 2% of respondents, respectively), with the Algarve (10.5%) and Alentejo (8.8%) regions having the highest prevalence. And if The Algarve is where young people consume the most, but they do so less frequently than in other regions. 

"Today, lifetime and 12-month cannabis use remains higher in the Algarve, but this is no longer the case when it comes to use in the last 30 days, as, in this case, between 2019 and 2024, prevalence rates decreased more in the Algarve than in the country as a whole," the study states.

There is also a notable difference between the archipelagos, with the highest daily cannabis consumption in the country recorded in the Azores (18% of consumers). In Madeira, it was only 5%.

And yet, daily or near-daily cannabis consumption is almost negligible (less than 1%) in all regions of the country. 

Behaviors in Alentejo that go beyond national averages. 

According to the results of this study, regional disparities are significant, with the Alentejo being the area of ​​the country “where the situation appears to be more serious among public school students.” This is not It is only the area of ​​the country where a higher prevalence of alcohol and tobacco consumption was observed.This shows how the differences lie between the regions where the consumption of psychoactive substances has decreased the least (and, in the case of non-prescribed use of tranquilizers/sedatives, where it has increased the most).

This was also where the highest consumption of alcohol, electronic tobacco, and heated tobacco was observed.

Young people in the Algarve believe they have easier access to illicit substances.

Of all the regions in the country, the Algarve has the highest number of students who considered cannabis (24.7%), ecstasy (10.4%), cocaine (11.9%), LSD (8.6%), crack (10.4%), heroin (8.8%), and magic mushrooms (10.2%) to be easily accessible, with a substantial difference compared to the national average, both for cannabis (17%) and for the other drugs. Among the top three, cocaine appears to be the most easily accessible nationwide (8%). 

In Lisbon, it was also found that the perception of ease of access to ecstasy (8.2%) is very close to the values ​​recorded for cocaine (8.5%).

Regarding these substances, it was in the Azores archipelago that the “perception of accessibility” was lowest, with cocaine, once again, being the substance that seems to be the least difficult to obtain (4.3%) after cannabis (14.1%). But it was in Madeira that the lowest values ​​in the country were recorded in terms of access to the plant (13.8%).

According to the report, "the regions where consumption is most prevalent are precisely those where access to these psychoactive substances tends to be perceived as easier by students."

Video games and gambling: legal addictions on the rise.

if in In terms of substance use, all regions now register lower prevalence rates than those obtained in 2019. One of the most striking trends is the increase in "gambling." According to the study, this behavior "is now more prevalent in all regions of the country," with increases ranging from 5% to 11% compared to the previous study.

“Gambling is a more prevalent practice in the south of the country (Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve), with the percentage of students who report having done so in the 30 days prior to the survey varying between 17% in the Azores, Central and Northern regions, and 21% in the Algarve (Figure 20),” they explain. 

Regarding video games, was In the Central region, young people reported playing more during school days, while in the Azores, it was found that students play more on days when they don't have classes.

Regarding frequency, in the Azores, respondents reported playing video games for four or more hours a day (17% on school days and 38% on non-school days), making this also the region of the country where daily electronic gaming is most prevalent (43%), with four or more days in the week prior to the survey.

And it is in the North, Center and Algarve where students spend the least time playing video games during school days (9% for four or more hours a day). And in the Alentejo where they dedicate the least daily time to playing, on days without school (26% of students, for four or more hours a day) and where they played fewer than four days in the week prior to being surveyed (33%). 

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Margarita Cardoso de Meneses

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Margarita has been a regular contributor to CannaReporter since its inception in 2017, having previously worked for other cannabis-focused media outlets such as Cáñamo magazine (Spain), CannaDouro Magazine (Portugal) and Cannapress. She was part of the original team for the Portuguese edition of Cânhamo in the early 2000s and was part of the organisation of the Global Marijuana March in Portugal between 2007 and 2009.

She recently published the book “Canábis - Maldita e Maravilhosa” / "Cannabis - Cursed and Wonderful" (Ed. Oficina do Livro / LeYA, 2024), about the history of the plant, its ancestral relationship with Humans as a raw material, an entheogen and a recreational drug, as well as the infinite potential it holds in medical, industrial and environmental terms.

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