FRENCH TEENAGERS SMOKE JOINTS AS OFTEN AS THEY DRINK ALCOHOL

PARIS, April 14 (AFP) - French teenagers are among the biggest consumers of
cannabis in Europe, smoking joints as often as they drink alcohol, an
official study of thousands of students from 450 high schools released
Wednesday showed.

By the age of 18, two boys in three and one of every two girls have tried
the narcotic - illegal in France - the survey by the French Observatory of
Drugs and Drug Use (OFDT) revealed.

"By the age of 16, regular consumption of cannabis reaches the level of
regular consumption of alcohol," the authors said.

Their questioning of 16,833 students last year showed that, by age 18, 21
percent of boys, and seven percent of girls, were smoking more than 10
joints a month.

The number of 16- and 17-year-olds using cannabis at least 10 times a year
has tripled over the past decade, according to the study, which is to be
incorporated into a Europe-wide report set for publication at the end of
the year.