"The number of opiate addicts in the Netherlands — between 26,000 and 30,000 — is stable, and low compared to other EU countries (2.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands; 4.3 per 1,000 inhabitants in France; and 6.7 per 1,000 inhabitants in the United Kingdom)."
Source: Trimbos Institute, "Report to the EMCDDA by the Reitox National Focal Point, The Netherlands Drug Situation 2002" (Lisboa, Portugal: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Nov. 2002), p. 8.
The ratio of drug-related deaths in The Netherlands is the lowest in Europe.
Sources: Johnston, Philip, The Daily Telegraph, "International Conventions: UK Regime Among the Most Severe in Europe" (London, England: The Daily Telegraph, March 31, 2000.), and van Dijk, Frans, and de Waard, Jaap, "Legal Infrastructure of the Netherlands in an International Perspective: Crime Control" (The Hague, Netherlands: Ministry of Justice Directorate of Strategy Development, June 2000).
According to "Netherlands Drug Situation 2000," a report prepared for the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction, "Cannabis is by far the most popular illicit drug in the Netherlands. The total number of cannabis users in the Netherlands is estimated at some 320,000. The estimated number of cannabis dependent persons may vary between 30,000 and 80,000. Until 1996 cannabis use showed a steep increase among pupils. However, between 1996 and 1999 prevalence rates stabilised. Prevalence rates of hard drugs, such as cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy and opiates are much lower. Use of these drugs also stabilised among pupils. Changes in policies, availability, attitude or lifestyle have been put forward to explain these trends but the precise factors remain to be determined. Drug use is higher certain subpopulations [sic], including visitors to house-parties, discotheques and cafes (particularly ecstasy), young people with multiple psychosocial problems and (juvenile) delinquents in judicial institutions. There are indications that cocaine sniffing is increasing among 'outgoing' youth in Amsterdam. The number of opiate addicts is estimated at between 25,000 and 29,000. Most of these users also consume other substances. Cocaine is becoming the main drug in smal networks of (young) marginalised drug users."
Source: Report to the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Addiction by the Reitox National Focal Point of The Netherlands, Trimbos-institut, "Netherlands Drug Situation 2000" (Netherlands: Trimbos and EMCDDA, December 2000), p. 6.
According to a report in the British Medical Journal in September of 2000, "Cannabis use among Dutch schoolchildren aged 10-18 years has fallen for the first time in 16 years, a national survey of risk behaviour among 10,000 young people has shown." The story notes that according to Trimbos, the Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction ( www.trimbos.nl ), "about one in five young people had used cannabis at some point in their lives but less than a tenth had used it in the previous four weeks ("current users")."
Source: Sheldon, Tony, "Cannabis use falls among Dutch youth," British Medical Journal (London, England: September 16, 2000), vol. 321, p. 655.
Still waiting for someone to try and rebut your (very good) post...BUMP