Patterns of substance use on a college campus: a 14-year comparison study.
In 1972, a drug incidence survey was conducted at a private southern university. Pooled results of this random survey of 1,032 students revealed that on at least one occasion, 90% of the students had tried alcohol, 70% had used tobacco, and 61% had experimented with marijuana. Use of amphetamines (38%), hallucinogens (28%), barbiturates (19%), and cocaine (10%) was much lower. To evaluate the apparent change in trends of drug usage, a follow-up study was undertaken in 1986 at the same school. The results showed a decline in amphetamine and barbiturate use. The greatest differences were seen in the nearly fourfold increase in one-time use of cocaine between 1972 and 1986 and the sixteenfold increase in students who used cocaine more than 10 times. It was noteworthy that one-third of the students who used marijuana had done so by the 9th grade. Similar early experimentation was noted with a majority of the other drugs.
Patterson
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Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112.
Myers
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Gallant
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities