GLOBAL DRUG SURVEY (GDS) 2019

GDS 2019: Global trends 

• Alcohol and tobacco apart, the most used drugs globally were cannabis, MDMA (or Ecstacy), cocaine, amphetamines, LSD (or ‘acid’), magic mushrooms, benzodiazepines, prescription opioids, ketamine, nitrous oxide. 
  
  
• Globally approximately 14% (11,000) reported being taken advantage of sexually while intoxicated in their lifetime. There were no figures from India available. 
  
  

GDS 2019: Findings for India 

• For the first time it polled respondents from India. 
  
  
• Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were the most common stimulants used by Indians. 
  
  
• Indians reported ‘being drunk’ on an average of 41 times in the last 12 months — behind the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia and Denmark in that order but well above the global average of 33 times. 
  
  
• Indians — more than from other nationalities — are seeking help to reduce their alcohol intake. 51% of the respondents wanted to ‘drink less’ in the following year.
  
  
• While 43% of Indians surveyed reported using cannabis but, similar to alcohol use, 51% said they wanted to use ‘less cannabis’ in the following year; more than any other nationality.