Use of ESPAD data for designing and evaluating psychoactive substance policy in Poland

The European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs (ESPAD) has been carried out every four years since 1995. In Poland, ESPAD is implemented not only at the national level, but also at the regional and local level (in some regions and cities). ESPAD results are widely used by policymakers to design and evaluate psychoactive substances policies at national, regional and local levels. Four examples of using ESPAD data for this purpose are presented.

ESPAD data showed a clear upward trend in youth cannabis use between 1995 and 2003. An increase in problem use was expected, which prompted the National Bureau for Drug Prevention to intensify prevention measures and a prepare treatment offer. The CANDIS therapeutic program was adopted and disseminated in the first decade of this century as a response to this challenge.

In Poland, the use of psychoactive substances has traditionally been attributed to male culture - even among teenagers, the prevalence among boys was much higher than among girls. Currently, the prevalence of alcohol drinking is the same for both sexes, and gender differences in cannabis use are decreasing or even disappearing locally. This trend prompted the National Centre for Prevention of Addiction to look for a preventive program addressed specifically to girls.

Questions on new psychoactive substances (NPS) were included in ESPAD in 2015, but in Poland already in 2011. In 2015, Poland, together with Estonia, recorded the highest rate of lifetime experience with NPS. This result was used to promote rapid legal changes and demand-reduction measures, as well as to mobilize society. Data from 2019 showed a decrease in this indicator in Poland, with a simultaneous increase in some countries.    

Wrocław is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The Lower Silesian Voivodeship has been participating in ESPAD since 2007, and Wrocław since 2011. In 2011, the rate of lifetime cannabis use in Wrocław was almost twice as high as in the country - in 2019 this difference disappeared. The decline in the indicator in Wrocław was stronger than in the entire Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The recent change in cannabis use among teenagers in Wrocław, compared to analogous trends at the level of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the entire Poland and the "European average", suggests the success of cannabis policy in Wrocław - although other interpretations are also possible.

In Poland, ESPAD data are used by decision-makers at national and local levels to identify new phenomena in the area of substance use requiring a response, justify the need for action, evaluate the results of actions and promote demand reduction activities as well as mobilize society. Use of ESPAD data for evaluation purposes needs formulation of restrictions and reservations