How common is it for teens/young adults to use drugs?

[sundestroyer]

I'm in my early 20s and in college but it seems that 90% of my classmates from secondary school use either coke, ecstasy, weed or GHB on a night out.

My parents told me to avoid drugs and I have to respect that as I'm in their house but I'm wondering, are they wrong about it? They always said "you can never be successful in life when using drugs" but I'm in an engineering course and it's not the 'low-lives'/wasters using coke in my class, it's the students who get straight A-s. They also attend college regularly

Perhaps it's a cultural thing. Most of the students in my class who use drugs are white (Irish or of European descent). The ones who don't come from Asia/Africa. It's known that African and non-western parents tend to be stricter so that might explain why their kids don't use drugs.

Would you allow your teens to experiment with drugs?

No ffs. The drugs trade is awful however MN thinks it’s normal for teens to do it cringe, like parent your kids ffs

I think a lot of teens use weed these days, more than alcohol. The other drugs have been used as party drugs by the middle class since the rave times of the 90s and even before and it is possible for most people to carry out their normal lives as well as take recreational drugs at the weekend. However, there are downsides - comedowns, depression, tiredness.... not pleasant. And there are people who do get very negatively affected and mess up their lives! So it's risky!

None of the teens I know do drugs, primarily because they're all pre-pro athletes who get randomly drug tested on a regular basis with a one strike and you're out policy. Which is exactly why I get my children so heavily involved in sports. No time for drugs and teen pregnancy if you're training 8 hours a day between school.

“Allow” seems a weird turn of phrase. My parents never “allowed” me to use drugs but we did it anyway.

Weed would definitely be easier for my teens to get hold of than cigarettes. They know exactly who is selling at their school. Having said that, while they both have one or two friends who have tried, and one who regularly smokes weed, neither they nor most of their friends are interested. By their reckoning it's widely available but just a small proportion of their peers have given it a go.

I did weed drugs once. It changed the very course of my life. Not in a bad way necessarily but I basically moved to a different country, change career track entirely, ended up married etc. all off the back of this trip. Pretty sure weed doesn’t agree with me. I don’t think it’s necessarily so bad so long as you are buying it from a licensed distributor (so you know it’s regulated etc) and you do it in a safe place until you’re experienced enough with the dosage to be able to do it safely in public (I’d advise the same with alcohol use).

I wouldn’t use something like LSD/coke/etc because you can’t really trust what you get there. Misselling is really common and I’ve seen this yielding lethal consequences. I would always caution my children against the use of manufactured drugs or even weed outside of regulated jurisdictions.

In general I think getting high/drunk is a bit pointless and very bad for health but it was interesting experimenting with intoxication when I was young. It would be very naive though to think that these drugs are safe, they can be used safely assuming you get what you think you bought and you are doing it in a safe environment at a safe dosage but just blindly taking a pill of ‘ecstasy’ your friend gave you on a night out is the height of stupidity.

I have four sons, not one of them have ever used any drugs. I think it is wrong to see it as normal that teenager/ young person to use them.

Raised 3 to adult ,nope they definitely haven’t used drugs of any kind ..mine are straight laced ...I’m the rebel in the family ,and may of dabbled when younger

@Toomboom

I have four sons, not one of them have ever used any drugs. I think it is wrong to see it as normal that teenager/ young person to use them.

How do you know? 😂

Very common from what I know.

1 in 4 children and 1 in 12 adults take illegal drugs.

digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-drug-misuse/2018

I am a nurse, until recently working in an addiction service. My experience, and all the surrounding literature will confirm that drug use is very, very common in teenagers, far more so than most parents will ever realise, as this thread attests to.

It is a normal, though undoubtedly risky, part of growing up. Telling your children to "just say no" has also been proved to be a highly ineffective parenting strategy in preventing drug use. It might also be reassuring to know that most teenagers will stop using drugs with no ill effects on their lives and will no open some mythical gateway that results in them becoming an injecting heroin user with a life in tatters

It goes against our best instincts as parents but the evidence is clear, that by being open with your kids, creating an environment where they can talk to you about any drug use, and where you can rationally discuss risk is the way forwards. It is important to remember that acceptance isn't the same as approval!

@jokolo exactly, and we think it's actually a much more significant number than that in reality. Those odds increase significantly if a teenager goes to certain festivals and parts of the night time economy

Its very common - I'd say practically universal. My DD was not interested in drugs when she was 15 when a lot of her friends were heavily into weed. But now 20 she loves clubbing and it seems to be part and parcel of club culture. Her and her friends all use weed, coke, ket and MDMA. Everyone she's knows at uni does.

I don't like drugs but its outside of my control what my kids do and its not up to me to police my DD20's life. I imagine only those late teens who are either into a puritan elite sport/exercise/health routine or those that don't party at all don't use drugs. And as noted by someone upthread, I think some foreign, or minority ethnic groups may also abstain due to strict parental control or religious reasons.

I have to hope that my DD's use is not excessive. She seems very aware of keeping it in balance and sometimes gets fed up with other people's overuse and reliance on it. She finds (mainly boys) who go on and on about weed and have big sessions on it very very boring. It appears her friends all look out for each other and do express concern when their friends overdo it or become too dependent on them. Last year her housemates were very concerned about one guy who was excessively smoking weed as it was getting in the way of him being able to do his coursework, attend college etc. They tried hard to support him to reduce his use.

My DS17 is not so into drugs. But loves vodka at a party. I know he's smoked weed, overdid it once and had a big whitey which made him feel ill all weekend. Since then he doesn't like it. I'm not sure what else he's done but he's not been clubbing yet.

I think some parents are quite naive about what their kids get up to. If they go clubbing and are coming back at 3 or 4am its hard to imagine thats not without some chemical input.

It’s reasonably common, I guess. Personally I have never touched anything, and in my circle of friends it was never a feature. That’s not to say we didn’t go out or party hard, we just generally didn’t go in for drugs. I’ve never felt like I’ve wanted to, and I’ve always hated that you actually have no idea what you’re taking/where it’s come from... one wrong move and you’re dead. Pretty cool then ae? Also, the ethical issues bother me a lot.

I can’t believe you even had to ask this.

@Toomboom

I have four sons, not one of them have ever used any drugs. I think it is wrong to see it as normal that teenager/ young person to use them.

My parents would probably say the same about me and my siblings, and they are not detached/disinterested. We were just exceptionally good at hiding what we got up to.

It's not 'practically universal' if the stats say 1 in 4 kids and 1 in 12 adults do it.

@Bouledeneige it's quite possible for teenagers to stay out most of the night without taking drugs, my dd18 is at a uni where there is a big party culture. She frequently goes to house parties minus any substances. We are very close and I'm pretty sure she would tell me if she did try anything, same with my ds22 he had the attitude that he didn't need it and it was a waste of money.

I've never taken drugs. Wasn't interested. When I was young, the intoxicant of choice for everyone I knew was alcohol. I was quite a party girl at university and in my 20s but I never even saw anyone using recreational drugs. The only couple of guys we knew at university who used weed (and probably other stuff) were seen as a bit of a joke.
Dh and I are teachers and have seen drugs turn good kids with bright futures into angry, paranoid drop-outs. I really hope my own dc don't get into it.

To my knowledge, my dc have never done drugs, and have shown no interest in doing so.

However, they do report that they know who the druggies are at school, and know where to get there, and we’re talking grammar schools here. In one school, someone got expelled for drugs, and in the other, another died after an accidental overdose.

I think @Ughmaybenot as summed up my situation many moons ago, and my dc today.

Your parents were wise to counsel about not using drugs. They aren’t worth it and have mucked up a lot of lives.

And in answer to your question, no, I wouldn’t allow my dc to use drugs.

It is possible to know your kids don’t do drugs. Just because other kids do doesn’t mean that every parent is naive and every child is doing drugs.

I know for a fact my seventeen year old doesn’t, we’ve discussed it and he actually said he wouldn’t know where to get drugs from although obviously he could find out. But he’s into cycling etc and he thinks that clubbing is sad. He doesn’t really drink either. He talks the talk i.e. he put a couple of cans of cider in the fridge at the beginning of lockdown and they’re still there.

And maybe if so many parents didn’t just blindly accept that their kids will be into drugs/drink anyway so there’s no point worrying about it, we wouldn’t have such an extreme drink and drugs culture in this country.

Kids need to be told that drugs are detrimental to their health as is alcohol. What they do as adults is their business as long as it’s their money they’re spending, But this blind acceptance of drug use in teenagers is just lazy shit parenting.

Drugs are everywhere, TBF they were 25 years ago too.

I think it does sway teens and young adults due to seeing so many peers use them, it's very easy to see it as A okay.

I've talked as openly as possible about drugs to my teens. (never admitting to them, that I used drug at their age) I tried to use examples of what happened to friends, having bad nights, and some of the longer term effects on some of my friends.

and basically made them aware that every time they use a drug it's a lottery as how it will effect you, whether its a bad episode, addiction, long term MH issues, strength of weed, not knowing what you are actually buying, mixing some drugs and alcohol.

Also giving advice on if they were to try drugs, to make sure they are with people they absolutely trust.

My eldest from around year 9 knew where to get drugs at school, and who was using drugs. There was a tiny % if his acquaintances who did, most of his friends where not interested.

years later the couple of his friends who started smoking weed around year 9 and ten. Are starting already starting to waste there life, and are in to harder drugs then weed. DS can see for himself how the drugs have and are affecting them. (other friends who came to drugs later seem fine and moderate the use)

I suspect he's smoked weed but nothing more.
He's not into alcohol either, will have few very occasionally, but doesn't like being wasted.

I worried last year when he went away with a group of friends he knew through an activity, they were all older than him, late teens early 20s.

He had an amazing time, But due to the nature of the activity they do, taking drugs would impair them, So no one even had weed.

all I can do as a parent is guide them and give them advice. As a pp there is not much you can do once they are independent.

Be open though, and if you don't know anything about drugs and the happy and bad effects of them. Find out and talk about the good the bad and the ugly effects. it gives them info to make better choices in different environments, and not relying on a couple of friends who do it and say how amazing it is and they have no ill effects.

To all the people that are saying their dc don't do drugs, wake up!!

I was a shocker in my teens but my parents had absolutely no idea. At home nobody would have known, I was well behaved, worked/went to school and didn't even drink alcohol at family events, meals etc
They also weren't naive parents, we were a close family and they had been proper hippies (late 1960s) when they were young and certainly not blind to what goes on in the world!

To this day, my parents still talk about how 'lucky' they were with me and my brother. How we would have 'never touched drugs'
My brother was doing cocaine well into his 30s!!