When it comes to smoking pot , Canadian teenagers lead the world.
That’s according to a new UNICEF study on child well-being in developed countries. According to the stats, a whopping 28 percent of 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Canadians said they had smoked marijuana at some point in the previous 12 months.
That number puts Canada well above second-placed Switzerland (24.13 percent). The United States came in fifth, with 22.05 percent of teens saying they had smoked in the last year.
In the Netherlands, a country famous for its relaxed marijuana laws, only 17.05 percent of teens admitted to cannabis use. That pattern seemed to repeat itself throughout UNICEF’s “ Report Card 11 ” study. Countries with more liberal drug laws seemingly boast lower rates of teenage marijuana use. In Portugal, where the drug has been entirely decriminalized, only 10.5 percent of teens smoked.
You can see the rankings and scores for all 29 countries below. Is this evidence that more liberal drug laws could lead to lower drug use, or do you feel there are more complex factors involved? Let us know in the comments!
1. Canada (28 percent) 2. Switzerland (24.13 percent) 3. Spain (24.06 percent) 4. France (22.54 percent) 5. United States (22.05 percent) 6. Czech Republic (21.49 percent) 7. Latvia (18.5 percent) 8. Slovenia (18 percent) 9. United Kingdom (17.45 percent) 10. Netherlands (17.05 percent) 11. Italy (16.62 percent) 12. Belgium (16.07 percent) 13. Luxembourg (15 percent) 14. Estonia (14.69 percent) 15. Poland (14.6 percent) 16. Lithuania (14.24 percent) 17. Ireland (13.11 percent) 18. Slovakia (13.04 percent) 19. Denmark (11.51 percent) 20. Hungary (10.54 percent) 21. Portugal (10.05 percent) 22. Austria (10.04 percent) 23. Germany (8.55 percent) 24. Finland (8.02 percent) 25. Iceland (7 percent) 26. Greece (6.6 percent) 27. Romania (6.08 percent) 28. Sweden (5.54 percent) 29. Norway (4.55 percent)
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