Youth drug use rises in Italy while Malta records lowest cannabis rates in Europe

A parliamentary report on drug dependence in Italy shows that in 2025, 950,000 students aged 15‑19 (39%) admitted using at least one illegal psychoactive substance, with 640,000 (26%) doing so in the past year. Cannabis was the most commonly accessed drug, with 32% of students saying it was easy to obtain, followed by cocaine (9.3%) and new psychoactive substances. The report notes a reversal of the previous decline in adolescent drug use, attributing the increase to greater availability of stimulants, cocaine and other unclassified substances.

In contrast, Malta, five years after legalising recreational cannabis, reports that only 1.2% of people aged 15‑34 said they used cannabis in the past year, the lowest rate among EU countries. This figure sharply differs from Italy, where 21.5% of young adults reported cannabis use in the same period. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction’s 2026 European Drug Report notes that cannabis remains the most widely used illegal drug in Europe, with an overall adult prevalence of 8.7%.

Both articles draw on the same EU drug report, highlighting divergent national trends in youth substance consumption.