Usage
According to J. Copeland from the NCPIC and others, cannabis in Australia is commonly smoked as a cluster (or “cone”) of the flowering heads or leaves of the female plant. Less commonly, the plant resin is smoked; this is known as hash or hash oil. Typically, cannabis is smoked using a bong or joint and is often mixed with tobacco, or "spun". Occasionally, cannabis is eaten or brewed as tea.
Cannabis use varies with age, and is most prevalent among Australians in their 20s and 30s. Patterns of use are similar to those throughout the developed world with heaviest use occurring in the early 20s, followed by a steady decline into the 30s. 90% of experimental or social recreational users of cannabis do not go on to use the substance daily or for a prolonged period; most discontinue its use by their late 20s.
According to the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, cannabis was used at least once by one-third of all Australians aged 14 years or older, and 1.6 million people reported using cannabis in the preceding 12 months. Of 12- to 15-year-olds 2.7% reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months, compared with 15% of 16- and 17-year-olds and 19% of 18- and 19-year-olds.
Results indicate that males aged 14 years or older were more likely than their female counterparts to have ever used cannabis (37.1% versus 30.0%), and one in five teenagers aged 14 to 19 reported having used cannabis. This gender differential is seen across all age groups except the 14- to 19-year-olds, in which there is little difference between males and females in terms of lifetime and past-year use.
Of the entire population, those aged 30 to 39 years were the most likely (54.6%) to have used cannabis at some time in their lives. According to McLaren and Mattick, the lower proportion of cannabis use among older age groups compared with younger users is even more striking when recent use is assessed; males aged 14 and older were more likely than corresponding females to have used cannabis in the previous 12 months (1.0 million and 0.6 million, respectively). 12.9% of teenagers aged 14 to 19 had used cannabis in the previous 12 months; those aged 20 to 29 were the most likely age group to have used cannabis in the previous 12 months, with one in five having done so.
According to Hall although rates of cannabis use are considerable, most people who use cannabis do so infrequently. According to the 2004 household survey, approximately half of all recent cannabis users used the drug less than once a month. However, the proportion of recent cannabis users who use cannabis every day is not considered trivial; it is cited at 16% by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Those aged 30 to 39 were most likely to use cannabis every day. The 2004 household survey also shows that of all respondents who used cannabis on a regular basis, the average number of cones or joints smoked on any one day was 3.2.
Statistics show that between 1995 and 2007 (after peaking in 1998), the proportion of both males and females aged 14 years or older who had used cannabis in the previous 12 months declined steadily. Between 2004 and 2007, the decline was significant. Recent cannabis use dropped steadily since 1998 and significantly between 2004 and 2007—from 11.3% to 9.1%, the lowest proportion seen since 1993. Cross-sectional analysis of household survey data shows the age of initiation into cannabis decreasing over time. According to the Mental Health Council of Australia in 2006, the average age of first use for 12– to 19-year-olds was 14.9 years—significantly lower than in previous years.
Cannabis is considered relatively easy to obtain in Australia, with 17.1% of the population recording that they were offered (or had the opportunity to use) cannabis.
Read more about this topic: Cannabis In Australia
Famous quotes containing the word usage:
“I am using it [the word ‘perceive’] here in such a way that to say of an object that it is perceived does not entail saying that it exists in any sense at all. And this is a perfectly correct and familiar usage of the word.”
—A.J. (Alfred Jules)
“...Often the accurate answer to a usage question begins, “It depends.” And what it depends on most often is where you are, who you are, who your listeners or readers are, and what your purpose in speaking or writing is.”
—Kenneth G. Wilson (b. 1923)
“Girls who put out are tramps. Girls who don’t are ladies. This is, however, a rather archaic usage of the word. Should one of you boys happen upon a girl who doesn’t put out, do not jump to the conclusion that you have found a lady. What you have probably found is a lesbian.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1951)