Sciensano collects data and analyses the consumption of drugs, the drug market, the consequences for health, requests for treatment and the policies implemented with regard to drugs in Belgium.

NB! Drugs effects vary according to the psychological state and the health of the person concerned, the context in which the drug is taken as well as the quality of the drug and the quantity consumed.
The cannabis plant produces both dried flowers (“grass”, “weed”, “marijuana”) and resin (“hashish”, “hash”) which are usally mixed with tobacco for smoking. It can also sometimes be consumed in cake form (“space cake”), as chocolate, sweets or drinks. Certain countries recognise its therapeutic value.
It is a psychoactive substance which is:
The risks are greater in those already suffering from psychiatric problems or persons with genetic predisposition, particularly psychoses or even schizophrenia. The long-term risks are: