” “"Europe has become the second largest illegal drugs market in the world", as well as "one of the largest illegal markets of stimulants in the world". It is one of the findings of the Yearly Report of the International Narcotics Control Board, the UN board set up in 1968 to manage the enforcement of international conventions against drugs, which was announced today. Drug users account for about 10% of drug-addicts admitted to treatment within the European Union, says the UN report, which also found that the amount of cocaine seized in Europe and the number of people who use it have increased from last year. Cannabis is still the most widely consumed drug in our continent: according to estimates of the European Observatory on Drugs and Drug-Addictions in Europe, about 6% of the adult population of the EU member states, plus Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, have tried cannabis "at least once in their lifetime"; the rate of prevalence for the use of cannabis has remained permanently high among young adults aged between 15 and 34 in Europe. Hence the "growing concern" of the Incb, which also complains of the general trend of Europe "to cut down penalties for personal use, giving priority to financial sanctions". ” “
