Fewer Students Are Turning To Drugs

by Amarjit Barn

June 2, 2004

DRUG use among WA students has decreased significantly since 1999 according to Health Minister Jim McGinty.

The Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey reported that the use of cannabis, hallucinogens and heroin among students aged 12-17 years had fallen dramatically between 1999 and 2002.

There were also fewer students using tranquillisers, inhalants, amphetamines, ecstasy and steroids.

"We can attribute these findings to a range of prevention, intervention and education strategies in place within the community," said Mr McGinty.

He said projects that had contributed to these positive results included an increase in the number of schools participating in the drug education project; an increase in access to drug treatment services and options; an increase in community action to respond to drug use issues at a local level; and better co-ordinated approaches to address drug use.

Hamilton Senior High deputy principal, Robert Moule, said, "I do believe drug use has diminished but find it very hard to quantify. We take part in quite a fair number of ongoing surveys and find it difficult to make sweeping statements such as 'significantly diminished'."

He said massive drug awareness programmes and health education projects have helped considerably in providing drug abuse education.

"Five to 10 years ago people were pretty naïve about what it looks and smell like and what people look like on it. Even 60-year-olds are now aware."

A senior research officer who conducted the ASSAD survey said, "These findings may not be consistent across all sub-groups for example, younger versus older students and male versus female."

She emphasised that although she did not disagree with the results, the fact that these decreases in drug use followed increases in 1996 when the ASSAD survey first started and increases again in 1999, needed to be kept in mind.

"The cyclical nature of drug use reveals that fashions change and that the 1999 figures are higher and now there is a more normalising trend in drug use across the state."

ASSAD is a three-yearly survey conducted across government, Catholic and independent schools. 3545 year seven to 12 students took part in the 2002 survey.

More information is available on the drug report and its results on the Drug and Alcohol Office website: http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au .

24-hour help-lines are available to the community state-wide including the Parent Drug Information Service (9442 5050), Family Drug Support (1300 368 186) and the Alcohol and Drug Information Service (9442 5000).