A Dissemination & Train the Leaders Program by Parents, for Parents
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Drugs and Teen Use What Schools Can Do What Parents Can Do What Parent Volunteers Can Do What Parent Leaders Can Do |
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Youth Drug Use
Harms Associated with Problem Use
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Youth Drug Use and Other Addictive Behaviours: Statistics and Studies Long term trendsGeneral use: After peaking in 1979, use of most substances by young people fell steadily until the early 1990s. In the decade that followed, the use of legal and illegal drugs by students generally rose. Since the early part of this decade, rates of use for a number of substances have slowly gone down. Age of first use: Contrary to popular belief, the age at which young people begin to use substances has not gone down (i.e. they’re not getting younger and younger). The first substances generally used are tobacco, alcohol and cannabis and the age of first use for these substances have either gone up (alcohol, tobacco) or remained the same. For example, in 2005, 29% of 7th-graders used alcohol by grade 6, compared to 42% in 2003 and 50% in 1981. Hazardous use: There are also indications that the percentage of students drinking hazardously (i.e. binge drinking or drinking to intoxication) has declined in recent years, however concerns remain (see below). Attitudes: Attitudes have become generally more tolerant of use than was the case 10 years ago, with fewer students disapproving or seeing a risk of harm in experimenting with various substances. Current patternsAge differences: The percentage of students using substances always increases from Gr. 7 to Gr. 12. For example, in Nova Scotia the percentage of students reporting past year alcohol use increases 5-fold from Gr. 7 to Gr. 12 (from 16% to 81%). An exception in some communities is solvents/inhalant use which goes down during the high school years after peaking in early junior high. Gender differences: While girls have caught up to boys in their use of different substances in recent years, a greater percentage of boys still use most substances, and they tend to use more each time. Substances of concernNon-use: Currently, about one-third to one-quarter of Canadian high school students (i.e., age 12-19) used no drug (including alcohol or tobacco) in the past year. Most used substances: Over the years, the most commonly used substances among youth have been alcohol, cannabis (marijuana, hash, hash oil) and tobacco. This remains the case, with about two-thirds of all junior and senior high school students having drank alcohol in the past year. The next most commonly used substances are cannabis and tobacco, with roughly one-third of students using cannabis and closer to one in five students using tobacco in the past year. Moderately common substances: There appear to be regional differences, but the next most commonly used drugs are hallucinogens (e.g., LSD, psilocybin, mescaline) and amphetamines non-medically, with between 5-15% of students reporting past year use. Less common substances: Typically less than 5% of junior/senior high school students report use of ecstasy, methamphetamine (including crystal meth or ice), cocaine, heroin, PCP and non-medical use of other medications. Less than 3% of Ontario students (the only province collecting this information) used either Rohypnol (roofies) or GHB, so-called date rape drugs, in the past year. It should be noted that even small percentages can represent quite a few students (for example, 1% in Ontario represents 9,000 students). Hazardous patterns Binge use: A large number of students drink in hazardous ways. For example, in 2005, the percentage of Ontario Gr. 12 students reporting binge drinking (5 or more drinks per sitting) at least once in the past month was over 40%. In Nova Scotia (2002) 31% of all students (Gr. 7-12) reported experiencing at least one problem as a result of their own use of alcohol. Driving impaired: driving under the influence of any substance is dangerous. Driving after cannabis use appears to be more common than alcohol. For example, in Ontario in 2005 one in five Gr. 10-12 students with a license reported driving after cannabis use, compared to one in seven after drinking. Use of both cannabis and alcohol together is raising concern among road safety experts. Unplanned sexual activity: Sexual activity and substance use often go together. Of sexually active youth in Nova Scotia, 35% reported having unplanned sexual intercourse while under the influence of a substance, at least once during the course of the year. At-risk populations Use by marginalized and out of mainstream youth: Substance use by youth who are not in public school (i.e. incarcerated youth, hospitalized or institutionalized youth, youth living out-of-the mainstream) is not reflected in school survey results. At least some of these youth (e.g. incarcerated youth, street youth) have higher rates of substance use. For example, various studies have found that at least one-in-five street youth, including Aboriginal youth, have injected drugs. It is dangerous to generalize, but there are indications that Canadian gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth are at higher risk for substance use problems. Substances may be used to help cope with uncertainty around sexual identity, stigma and for a sense of belonging. |
Canadian Addictions Survey 2004 Highlights (Health Canada) How much of a problem is alcohol use in Canada? (Canadian Health Network) For Every High There is a Low. Straight Talk about Marijuana. (For Parents) Health Canada Student/Adolescent Alcohol & Drug Use Statistics (Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse) Ontario Student Drug Use Survey
Patterns
of Exposure to Risk and Protection for Substance and Gambling Use and
Abuse Healthy Youth Development: Highlights From the 2003 Adolescent Health Survey III (McCreary Centre, BC)
Yukon Addictions Survey (YAS): Preliminary Results 2005: A Survey of
Yukoner's Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs
Alcohol and drugs:
portrait of the situation in 2002 and main comparisons with 2000
Nova Scotia Student Drug Use 2002
Northwest
Territories Addiction Survey
Student Drug Use Survey 2003 : (Island Portion Only)
New Brunswick 2002
Student Drug Use Survey
Alcohol and Other Drug Use by Manitoba Students
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