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Written question asked by Charles Walker (Conservative) on Wednesday, 25 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 27 March 2009. It was answered by Alan Campbell (Labour) on Thursday, 2 April 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Cannabis: Young People

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of (a) boys and (b) girls aged 14-15 years old who have used cannabis in each of the last 10 years.
Answer

The information requested on the number of boys and girls aged 14 and 15 who have used cannabis are not routinely produced and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.However table 1, following, shows figures on the proportion of boys and girls aged 14 and 15 who have used cannabis in each year between 2001 and 2007, according to the survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England.

Table 1: Proportion of boys and girls who had taken cannabis in the last year, by age
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007
Boys
14 (percentage) 19 22 20 19 18 14
Base 906 965 1,026 983 944 607
15 (percentage) 32 33 33 27 28 22
Base 1,036 1,126 1,161 1,083 1,009 932
Girls
14 (percentage) 19 18 21 15 17 13
Base 950 956 986 925 961 715
15 (percentage) 30 28 30 26 26 22
Base 958 1,026 1,118 1,029 979 993
Notes:
1. Figures prior to 2001 are not given as they are not comparable.
2. Figures for 2006 have not been reported.
Source:
Survey of smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
490 c1316W;490 c1312W; 267675
Session
2008-09
Subjects
Cannabis Young people
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk