The acceptability of illicit drug use in the Netherlands and Norway: a comparative

study[preliminary results]

Rosalie van der Sar1, Einar Ødegard2, Evelien Brouwers1,

Ien van de Goor1, Jostein Rise2, Henk Garretsen1

1 Tilburg University, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tranzo, The Netherlands2 Sirus, The Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drugs Research, Norway

Alcohol and Drug Researcher’s Assembly, Reykjavik, August 2010

• Introduction• Research question• Preleminary results• Discussion• Conclusion?!

Overview

Introduction

Acceptability

:

Why of interest?

Prevalence

Policy

Lifetime prevalence

Netherlands 1 Norway2

Cannabis 23% 16,2%

Other drugs 6,1% 3,8%

1 Rodenburg, G., Spijkerman, R., van den Eijnden, R., & van de Mheen, D. (2007). Nationaal Prevalentie Onderzoek Middelengebruik 2005 [National Prevalence Survey Substance Use 2005]. Rotterdam: IVO.2 Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drugs Research. (2005). The drug situation in Norway 2005. Annual report to the EMCDDA. Oslo:Sirus

Policy

NetherlandsCannabis use is tolerated

NorwayZero-tolerance

Dutch drug policy

• Possession, trade and production of drugs are illegal• Drug use is not an illegal offence• Prevention and health education are an essentional part of

Dutch public health policy: focus on youngsters.• Distinction between hard and soft drugs based on health risks• Coffee shops are tolerated to protect citizins against the use

of hard drugs

Criteria coffee shops

• No advertising• No hard drugs sales• No causing any nuisance• No access to coffee shops/sale of soft drugs under

18 years• No sales of more than 5 grams per transaction per

person

Hypothesis

Expect a difference in acceptability

Acceptability of cannabis is more pronounced in

Netherlands than in Norway

The acceptability of cannabis use should be more in line with the acceptability of

cocaine/heroin in Norway than in the Netherlands

Methods

• Cross-sectional internetsurvey• Fall 2008• Cases: N =5616 and N=2150• Opinion measured on 5 and 7 point Likert scale• Compared cannabis, cocaine and heroin• T-tests and Mann Witney U tests

How measured? Beliefs about acceptability

1. The fact that …. is used, ought to be accepted in Norway/Netherlands

2. […. is come to stay in Norway/Netherlands]

3. [Use of …. is accepted by many]

4. In my opinion it is acceptable when my friends use …. once in a while

5. There is too strong regulation on in Norway/Netherlands

6. The legal system should (still) differentiate between cannabis and stronger drugs

How measured? opinion policy measures

1. Drug use should be legal

2. Cannabis use must be prohibited

3. Use of other sorts of drugs must be prohibited

Sample characteristics

Netherlands (%) Norway (%)

Age 46.7 43.6

Men 45.8 51.5Illicit drug lifetime use

Cannabis 19.0 16.0

Cocaine 3.4 3.4

Heroin 0.7 0.6

T-test

NL NO

Mean (SD) t df Sig.

Eta

The fact that cannabis is used ought to be accepted in Norway/ the Netherlands

3.37 (±1.93)

N=5560

2.14 (±1.72)

N=2138

27.25 4322.28 .00* 0.088

The fact that cocaine/ heroin…

1.87 (±1.23)

N=5558

1.35 (±0.92)

N=2141

20.36 5187.49 .00* 0.051

T-test

NL NO

Mean (SD) t df Sig.

Eta

The legal system should (still) differentiate between cannabis and stronger drugs

4.66 (±1.97)

N=5545

3.32 (±2.15)

N=2137

25.16 3601.41 .00* 0.076

Drug use should be legal 2.48 (± 1.74)N=5547

1.48 (± 1.22)N=2133

28.29 5500.47 .00* 0.094

T-test

NL NO

Mean (SD) t df Sig. Eta

Cannabis use must be prohibited

3.06

(±1.33)

N=5579

4.17

(±1.16)

N=2145

-36.19 4405.02 .00* 0.145

Use of other sorts of drugs must be prohibited

3.84

(±1.16)

N=5576

4.66

(±0.79)

N=2141

-35.69 5698.18 .00* 0.142

Discussion

Prevalence• There is a difference in prevalence rates between

these data and national data reports:

NL: lifetime use cannabis lower

NO: lifetime use cannabis higher

Discussion

Beliefs• Strongest difference in opinion on drug policy

measures not on beliefs???

Acceptability is experienced differently than policymeasures

Symbolic politics1

1 Ødegård, E. (1995). LEGALITY AND LEGITIMACY: On Attitudes to Drugs and Social Sanctions. Br J Criminol, 35(4), 525-542.

Discussion

Acceptability of cannabis is more pronounced in

Netherlands than in Norway

The acceptability of cannabis use should be more in line with the acceptability of

cocaine/heroin in Norway than in the Netherlands

Hypothesis

Yes, but slightly Yes, though…

Discussion

….the scores on cannabis and cocaine/heroin items are not equal

Difference between acceptability between cannabis and cocaine/ heroin is smaller in Norway than in Netherlands

Thank you!

Rosalie van der Sar r.vdrsar@uvt.nl