A comparison of trends in drug use among students in the USA and Ontario, Canada: 1975-1997

This report compares trends in the prevalence of the use of alcohol, cigare ttes, cannabis, LSD and cocaine between American and Ontario adolescent stu dents. Data from two repeated cross-sectional epidemiological surveys, one in the USA and the other in the province of Ontario, spanning the years 197 5-1997 were used. Overall, trends in alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use we re similar in both studies: alcohol use has been steadily decreasing since the late 1970s, while both cigarette use and cannabis reached a peak in the late 1970s, decreased throughout the 1980s, and then began dramatic increa ses in 1992. In contrast, cocaine use has been consistently higher in the U SA, especially during the 1980s, but LSD use has been noticeably higher in all time periods among Ontario students. The use of the more common drugs a mong students in both the USA and Ontario often follow consistent patterns, which suggests that changes in use are due to fundamental shifts in attitu des, rather than the policies or cultural values of a particular country. L ess prevalent drugs (cocaine, LSD) show fewer similarities which may reflec t deeper cultural differences.