Prevalence of Cannabis Use, by Age and Gender

"Cannabis is by far the most widely used illicit substance in France. In 2010, among adults aged from 15 to 64 years, around a third (32.1%) admitted to having used cannabis during their lifetime. This experimentation affects more men than women (39.5% compared with 25%). 8.4% of 15-64 year-olds have used cannabis over the last 12 months (11.9% of men and 5.1% of women), whereas the overall proportion of users during the month is 4.6%.
"Although lifetime use went from 28.8% to 32.1% for all age groups between 2005 and 2010 (Table 2-2), cannabis use remains stable. The slight increase observed is linked to a 'stock' effect of former generations of smokers.
"Cannabis is mostly used by the younger generations with virtually negligible consumption in the over 50 year-olds.
"Thus 20.8% of 15-24 year-olds were implicated in cannabis use over the twelve-month period preceding the survey.
"In terms of gender distribution, among the proportion of people who have used cannabis at least once in their life, men in the 25 to 34 year-old age bracket (64.3%) are at highest with percentages decreasing thereafter to 13.1% amongst 55-64 year-olds (Figure 2.1.). In women, cannabis lifetime users represent 37.0% of 15-34 year-olds and only 7.3% of 55-64 year-olds.
"Amongst 15-34 year-olds, the stability of cannabis use hides some generational disparities: use over the last 12 months has increased in 20-24 year-old women (rising from 13.0% in 2005 to 16.4% in 2010), whereas the level of lifetime use is declining for girls aged 15-19 and males aged 15 to 24."