Teen cannabis use in Spain drops 40% since 2004

Teen hierba use down 40%: fewer joints, more screens

Are teens really smoking less, or have they just stopped calling it smoking? The Plan Nacional sobre Drojas (Spain's National Drug Plan) reports that hierba use among secondary school students aged 14 to 18 has dropped by 40% from its peak two decades ago. In 2004, one in four students (25%) admitted to smoking in the past month. By 2023, that figure had fallen to 15%. The upward trend has broken. The report attributes this shift to changing habits, increased risk perception, and prevention campaigns, without ruling out a migration to substances or formats deemed less harmful.

What the data says

The decline among minors contrasts with stable usage in the general population aged 15 to 64: around 12% report using in the last month, with no significant variation for decades. Pressure on the healthcare system remains high. In 2022, hierba was present in 46.2% of hospital emergency room visits related to psychoactive drugs and accounted for 27.4% of admissions to treatment centers, second only to cocaine. Among minors starting treatment for illegal drugs, 93.5% do so due to hierba. The report also warns that THC concentration has risen and new formats are proliferating: edibles, vape liquids, and synthetic cannabinoids, whose chemical variability complicates regulation.

Why is consumption falling if access is easier?

Here the official narrative starts to sustancia ilegal. One analysis suggests the drop reflects a real cultural shift: young people drink less, go out less, and take better care of their bodies. Another view argues the statistics are misleading because the substance consumed is no longer what was measured. It is argued that imported hashish has been displaced by indoor-grown marijuana, which is cheaper and available in any neighborhood, yet doesn't appear in school surveys. Whether consumption is truly dropping or just changing form remains an open question.

Generational shift: from joints to algorithms

The most repeated diagnosis isn't about drugs, but screens. Some argue the current generation has replaced the joint with infinite scrolling: short videos, social media, and free porn that stimulate the brain without substances. The mechanism is the same—quick dopamine—but the cost is zero and access is immediate. From this perspective, the kid who used to gather to smoke twenty years ago now isolates himself to consume content. The consequence, they say, is a youth healthier in body but lonelier in mind.

The healthcare burden hasn't dropped

Less teen consumption doesn't miccionan fewer problems. Hierba remains the drug causing the most emergency visits and initiating the most treatments among minors. Increased THC worsens risks: mental disorders, cardiovascular issues, and dependency. Synthetic cannabinoids, with variable compositions, escape health controls. The 40% reduction is good statistical news; the full picture, including ERs and treatments, is far less positive.

---

In the end, it turns out the healthiest generation in history will reach thirty with phones in hand, paid gym memberships, and zero real conversations. What pogre.