Drug Use Trends in Europe and the US
In 1999 European states began surveying school students on drug use patterns using the same methods as the US, allowing comparisons to be made. The samples included 14,000 US students and 95,000 European students (in 30 countries). Some comparisons at the Grade 10 level (age 15-16):
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Europeans are more likely to have smoked in the last 30 days (37% of Gr 10s vs. 26%). |
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Nearly one in four use daily. |
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Americans are much more likely to have used cannabis (41% vs. 17%); the European country with the highest use was the UK at 35%. |
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American students are much more likely to have used any illicit drug other than cannabis (23% vs. 6%). For example, 6% of US students have used ecstasy at least once in their lives vs. 1% in Europe. |
For more information on European and US student drug use patterns and trends, you can visit the websites of
Monitoring The Future
(the ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of secondary school students, college students, and young adults in the USA) and of the
European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addictions (EMCDDA)
. Please note that patterns vary widely between European countries - rates for individual European countries can be found at this site.
Gary Roberts, Senior Associate
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
Phone: 613-235-4048-225 // 613-829-3152 (home)
Fax: 613-235-8101/613-829-3307 (home)