Spain is Largest Cocaine Consumer in European Union

A new report by the European drug monitoring authority showed that Spain is the largest cocaine consumer in the European Union.

While marijuana consumption fell slightly in Spain, cocaine consumption has spread across the country.

Over the past year, 3.1 percent of Spaniards admitted to having used cocaine at one point, while 1.1 percent said they had used in the past month, according to the report presented by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

During the last four of five years, Spain’s cocaine consumption has stabilized after registering a large increase in the years before. But the report notes that "this is small progress; there is still much to do.”

In addition, 10.1 percent of Spaniards between 15 and 64 years old admitted having used marijuana in the past year, compared with 11.2 percent a year before; 7.1 percent said they had used it in the past month, compared with 8.7 percent a year earlier.

Wolfgang Goetz, director of the drug monitoring body, said that cocaine’s availability in the European market was one of the reasons for its spread.