8% try drugs before age 13

IRELAND is second behind Britain for first use of cannabis before or by the age of 13, according to a report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

The study shows 8% of Irish schoolchildren sampled the drug before their 13th birthday. Britain had the highest figure, at 13%.

Among 15- to 16-year-old schoolchildren, Ireland had a lifetime cannabis rate of 39%, compared with the EU average of 21%.