Breaking it down: Cannabis use statistics

17% of 15-64 year olds (about 490,000 people) have smoked cannabis at some stage in their lives.

5% of 15-64 year olds (145,000 people) have taken it within the last year and about 3% (76,000 people) in the past month.

Ireland is ranked 14th out of 27 European countries for cannabis use among 15-34 year olds in the past year.

39% of schoolgirls and 38% of schoolboys aged 15-16 have smoked cannabis at some stage.

A recent report in the Lancet medical journal ranked cannabis as the 11th most harmful drug out of 20 illegal and legal drugs — below heroin, alcohol and tobacco and above LSD and ecstasy.

The number of people treated for cannabis as their main drug rose from 603 in 1998 to 1477 in 2002.

6,260kg of cannabis resin and 150kg of herbal cannabis were seized in 2005.

1,048 people were charged for cannabis offences in 2005.