Only young people in the Netherlands use MDMA more frequently than Irish people do.

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug amongst young people in Ireland, according to a report by the EMCDDA. The report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) was released on Tuesday. It provides the EU and its member states with a factual overview of European drug problems and a solid evidence base to support the drugs debate. Data in the report, which relates to 2015, shows that 13.8 per cent of 15-34 year olds in Ireland used cannabis, followed by MDMA (4.4 per cent), cocaine (2.9 per cent) and amphetamines (0.6 per cent). Ireland ranked in ninth place out of 35 countries in terms of the prevalence of cannabis use amongst young adults; France ranked highest, with 22.8 per cent of 15-34 year olds saying they had used the drug. Data in the report suggests that only young people in the Netherlands use MDMA more frequently than Irish people do, while Ireland had the fourth highest prevalence of cocaine use behind the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Spain. The report, which also covers topics such as national drug strategy and coordination, drug laws and offences, prevention, harm reduction, treatment and quality assurance, can be read in full here.