Sweden is roughly the size of California—or twice that of the United Kingdom. Sweden's capital city, Stockholm, has a population of about 1.3 million, and the country as a whole has some 8.8 million inhabitants. The first well-documented example of drug abuse in Sweden arose during the 1940s, when the technique of injecting AMPHETAMINE began to spread among criminal elements and bohemians in Stockholm. This form of intravenous (IV) drug abuse quickly spread to other major towns and cities and also to the neighboring countries of Finland, Norway, and Denmark. In 1944, central nervous system (CNS) stimulants were subjected to the same strict prescription control regulations as narcotic drugs in general. In Sweden, CNS stimulants were formally scheduled as narcotics in 1958. The classification of CNS stimulants as psychotropic substances in the international convention of 1971 was largely a result of Sweden's efforts.

MARIJUANA (Cannabis leaves...