NCJ Number
188817
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 37-48
Date Published
March 2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article examines changes in drug use in Australia and the United States, 1995-1998.
Abstract
Comparison of the results of the 1995 and 1998 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Surveys showed a significant increase in use of "any illicit drug." Lifetime use increased 17 percent and past-year use increased 29 percent. Results of the 1995 and 1998 United States National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse showed no significant increase. The conversion or continuation rate in Australia had been rising since 1993; in 1998, 48 percent of all people who had ever tried illicit drugs continued to use them. The conversion rate in the United States held steady in those years at an average of 30 percent. The Australian survey showed use increasing among all age groups, with teenage girls catching up to boys in use of alcohol and drugs. United States teenage girls were also using alcohol at the same rate as boys. Both surveys found increases in inhaling and smoking of heroin by younger people and aging cohorts of drug users. The U.S. survey found conflicting changes over time in perceptions of risk and availability and the Australian survey also presented a mixed message about problematic drugs and the acceptability of their regular use. Tables, references