Drugs and dependence: indicators and trends in 2002

The plan adopted by the government in June 1999 broadened the skills of the Observatoire to all types of dependence (alcohol, tobacco, medicaments, dope practices) and highlighted the need for the authorities to have access to scientifically validated data produced by an independent body. 

The fourth edition (2002) of its report "Drogues et dépendances: indicateurs et tendances" [Drugs and dependence: indicators and trends] draws up an inventory which allows a better perception of the extent and the complexity of the phenomenon, the way it has evolved over the past years, as well as the measures implemented. 

The purpose of this document is to disseminate, after putting them in perspective, all the available elements of knowledge. Having become a reference tool, it is widely consulted in order to answer specific questions. 

The objective is not to present a summary of it here, but to illustrate its possible use in answering some fundamental questions posed by the professionals or the public at large: How many drug users are there in France? Is the consumption of cannabis "widespread"? How do the French view drugs? What are the principal types of damage to health attributable to the use of drugs? Is the state of health of drug addicts improving? How is the ban on the use of certain drugs applied? What new drugs are being used today?