WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DRUGS?

It is important to know some basic information about drugs.

• Drugs are very much a part of our society. A "drug" is defined as anything other than a food that changes the way the body or the mind works. This is a broad category which includes medicines doctors prescribe to treat illness or common medications available in pharmacies and other stores, such as cough syrups, painkillers and laxatives.
• "Psychoactive" drugs are taken to change the way a person feels, thinks or acts. Drugs in this category include caffeine, which is found in everyday beverages such as coffee, tea and colas, and alcohol, which is readily available and acceptable in our society.
• The effects of any drug depend on several factors:
  • the amount taken at one time
  • the user's past drug experience
  • the manner in which the drug is taken
  • the situation in which the drug is used.
• "Drug abuse" is the use of a drug, which is related to a problem. It could be a problem at school, with a job, with family or friends, or with a person's health or safety.
• Drug-related problems often occur when a person has become dependent on a drug. That means the drug becomes so important to the person that he or she believes they cannot manage without it.

Recent statistics show how widespread alcohol and other drug use is among youth. From the 2003 Ontario Student Survey from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), we know that:

ALCOHOL is, in fact, the most commonly-used drug.

• 66.2% of students (grades 7-12) had used alcohol (drank one drink or more on any occasion) during the past year.
• 18% of these students drank weekly or more frequently.
• 39.4% of these students had had five or more drinks at one occasion at least once in the past month.

Perhaps an even more startling fact is that CANNABIS (MARIHUANA OR HASH) is the second most popular drug used by our youth.

• 29.6% of the students surveyed reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months.
• 45.9% of these students had used the drug 10 or more times during that period.

While there has been a recent important decline in the rate of smoking, the third most commonly used drug is TOBACCO.

• 19.2% of students (grades 7-12) smoked in the previous year.
• 69.2% of these students smoked one or more cigarettes daily.

Not all students use drugs. In fact, two-thirds of all students did not use any illicit substance and 30% used no drugs at all. However, many of those using tobacco, alcohol and cannabis reported problems associated with their substance use.