NCJ Number
230133
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 150-156
Date Published
March 2010
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Monitoring the prevalence of drug use by young people attending a major music festival in Melbourne, Australia this paper reports on trends observed in drug use over time and explores participant characteristics associated with recent drug use.
Abstract
In order to monitor trends in illicit drug use among youth, surveillance of drug use behaviors among a variety of populations in different settings is required. This study monitored drug use among music festival attendees. Cross-sectional studies of young people's reported drug use were performed at a music festival in Melbourne from 2005 to 2008. Self-administered questionnaires collected information on drug use, demographics and other risk behavior. From 2005 to 2008, over 5000 questionnaires were completed by people aged 16-29; 2273 men and 3011 women. Overall, use of any illicit drug in the past month was reported by 44 percent. After adjusting for demographic and behavioral characteristics, the prevalence of recent illicit drug use decreased significantly from 46 percent in 2005 to 43 percent in 2008. After adjusting for age and sex the downwards trend was repeated for amphetamines and cannabis, but a significant increase in prevalence was observed in hallucinogen, ecstasy, and inhalant use. Drug use was more common among men, older participants, and those engaging in high-risk sexual behavior. Illicit drug use was much more common in this sample than in the National Drug Strategy Household survey, but the direction of trends in drug use were similar; drug use prevalences were much lower than in the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System, the Illicit Drug Reporting System, or National Needle and Syringe Program Survey. Music festival attendees are a potentially useful group for monitoring trends in illicit drug use. Tables and references (Published Abstract)