Cross-national comparison of adolescent drinking and cannabis use in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands (original) (raw)
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Addictive Behaviors, 2018
Introduction: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance in the world. An increasing number of jurisdictions have legalized medical and non-medical cannabis; comparisons across jurisdictions can help evaluate the impact of these policy innovations. The current study examined patterns of cannabis use among youth in Canada (CA), England (EN) and the United States (US). At the time of study, non-medical cannabis use was prohibited federally in all three countries; however, medical cannabis was accessible with varying restrictions in CA, EN and most US states, while non-medical cannabis was legal in four US states. Methods: Data come from an international online survey conducted in July 2017 (n = 12,064). Youth, aged 16-19, were asked about cannabis consumption, perceived access to cannabis, perceptions of harm, and driving after cannabis use. All estimates represent weighted data. Results: US youth were more likely to report more frequent cannabis consumption, easier access, lower perceptions of harm, and higher rates of driving after cannabis use than CA and EN youth. CA youth reported more frequent consumption, easier access, and higher rates of driving after cannabis use than EN youth. Conclusion: CA and US youth had higher prevalence of use, easier access, lower perceived harm and higher driving rates after cannabis use in comparison to EN. These differences may reflect more permissive cannabis policies in CA and US, as well as pre-existing trends. Future waves of the international cannabis study will examine trends over time within the same countries after cannabis legalization in CA and additional US states.
Cannabis Policy Changes and Adolescent Cannabis Use: Evidence from Europe
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Cannabis accounts for the largest share of the illicit drug market, with a high prevalence of use even among adolescents. To tackle this longstanding problem, many kinds of reforms to national cannabis control policies have been implemented in Europe, but their effectiveness is still unclear. This paper analyses the association between selected categories of cannabis policy reforms and changes in perceived cannabis availability and patterns of use among adolescents. Data from 20 European countries across 15 years were drawn from a novel database of the European school Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD). Our analysis is based on a Difference-in-Differences design, which application is allowed by the fact that only thirteen out of the twenty countries included implemented policy changes. The results suggest that selected categories of reforms influence the availability and prevalence of cannabis use. In particular, some forms of restrictive intervention reduce the gener...
Economic and cultural correlates of cannabis use among mid‐adolescents in 31 countries
Addiction, 2006
Aims To examine cannabis use among mid-adolescents in 31 countries and associations with per-capita personal consumer expenditure (PCE), unemployment, peer factors and national rates of cannabis use in 1999. Design, participants and measurement Nationally representative, self-report, classroom survey with 22 223 male and 24 900 female 15-year-olds. Country characteristics were derived from publicly available economic databases and previously conducted cross-national surveys on substance use. Findings Cannabis use appears to be normative among mid-adolescents in North America and several countries in Europe. The life-time prevalence of cannabis use was 26% among males and 15% among females and was lowest for males and females in the former Yugoslav Republic (TFYR) of Macedonia: 2.5% and to 2.5%, respectively; and highest for males in Switzerland (49.1%) and in Greenland for females (47.0%). The highest prevalence of frequent cannabis use (more than 40 times in life-time) was seen in Canada for males (14.2%) and in the United States for females (5.5%). Overall, life-time prevalence and frequent use are associated with PCE, perceived availability of cannabis (peer culture) and the presence of communities of older cannabis users (drug climate). Conclusions As PCE increases, cannabis use may be expected to increase and gender differences decease. Cross-national comparable policy measures should be developed and evaluated to examine which harm reduction strategies are most effective.
Alcoologie Et Addictologie, 2007
Dans les 32 pays occidentaux ayant participé à l'enquête Health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC-2002), menée en milieu scolaire par autoquestionnaire anonyme auprès de 45 848 élèves, de l'ordre de 20 % des jeunes de 15 ans déclarent avoir déjà pris du cannabis, qui est ainsi le troisième psychotrope consommé derrière l'alcool et le tabac. Partout, les garçons consomment plus que les filles. La France se situe parmi les dix pays ayant les plus forts taux à 15 ans (29,8 %). La majorité des usagers enquêtés appartient aux groupes de l'usage expérimental (1-2 fois dans l'année précédente : 7,9 % des jeunes) ou moyen (3-39 fois: 7,3 %) ; ces groupes étant moins représentés en Europe de l'Est, du Nord et du Sud, au profit de la discontinuation (ont essayé, mais pas de consommation dans l'année précédente). L'usage fréquent est plus rare (2,7 %). Après ajustement sur le niveau économique et l'âge, être un garçon, fumer du tabac (surtout fréquemment), boire de l'alcool (surtout fréquemment) et avoir été ivre (surtout plus de deux fois) augmentent significativement et indépendamment la probabilité d'avoir fumé du cannabis au moins une fois dans la vie. Enfin, il existe un lien entre consommation quotidienne de tabac et d'alcool, ivresses fréquentes et passage d'un usage expérimental à un usage plus fréquent. Ainsi, chez les jeunes, les consommations de psychotropes sont rarement isolées, et il semble exister des sous-groupes plus particulièrement à risque qui méritent toute l'attention de la recherche et la prévention.
Substance abuse, 2017
To assess associations between enactment of state medical marijuana laws (MMLs), MML restrictiveness, and past-30-day youth alcohol use overall, and in relation to marijuana use. This quasi-experimental difference-in-difference designed study used state-level Youth Risk Behavior Survey data of 9th-12th grade students in 45 states from 1991-2011 (N = 715,014). We conducted bivariate (unadjusted) and multivariable (adjusted for state, year, individual characteristics) logistic regression analyses to examine the effect of MML enactment (yes/no) and less restrictive vs. more restrictive MMLs on five varying measures of past 30-day alcohol use (i.e., any use or binge) and alcohol and marijuana use behaviors. In the final adjusted analyses, MML enactment was associated with lower odds of adolescent past 30-day (1) alcohol use (OR = 0.92, [0.87, 0.97], p < .01) and (2) use of both alcohol and marijuana (OR = 0.93, [0.87, 0.99], p < .05). States with less restrictive MMLs had lower od...
International Journal of Psychology and Counselling
It is customarily challenging and fruitless to prevent young adults and teens from drug experimentation. Yet, the onset of marijuana or cannabis use by school-age young adults and teens could be delayed with holistic interventions that aim at involving stakeholders (that is schools, families, agencies, media, etc.). The objective of this review was to sum-up continental comparative data on the prevalence of cannabis or marijuana use among young adults. Although continental studies on the prevalence, causes, effects, and preventions of marijuana use are limited, there is evidence to suggest that marijuana use is still on the rise among young people globally, especially in Africa, Europe, and America. False gratification such as, its harmless effects, its ability to aid performance, and its ability to protect one against superstitious forces are factors among others that lead adolescents to its experimentation.
Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2016
We tested race/ethnic differences in alcohol and marijuana (AM) trajectories (comprising an intercept term; reflecting overall probability of use, and a slope term; reflecting change in probability of use) during adolescence, whether AM use trajectories predicted high school outcomes, and whether outcomes differed by race/ethnicity after controlling for trajectory of AM use. This longitudinal study involved n = 6,509 youth from 16 middle schools in Southern California surveyed from age 11.5 (2008) to age 17 (2015); all surveys assessed AM use, and the final survey also examined high school outcomes. Youth completed five surveys in middle school and two online surveys in high school. The sample was 50% male and 80% non-White. Intercept (at 2.75 years post baseline) and slope of AM use were examined as outcomes for race/ethnic differences. AM use trajectories were examined as predictors of academic performance and unpreparedness, social functioning, mental and physical health, and del...
2007
Dans les 32 pays occidentaux ayant participé à l'enquête Health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC-2002), menée en milieu scolaire par autoquestionnaire anonyme auprès de 45 848 élèves, de l'ordre de 20 % des jeunes de 15 ans déclarent avoir déjà pris du cannabis, qui est ainsi le troisième psychotrope consommé derrière l'alcool et le tabac. Partout, les garçons consomment plus que les filles. La France se situe parmi les dix pays ayant les plus forts taux à 15 ans (29,8 %). La majorité des usagers enquêtés appartient aux groupes de l'usage expérimental (1-2 fois dans l'année précédente : 7,9 % des jeunes) ou moyen (3-39 fois: 7,3 %) ; ces groupes étant moins représentés en Europe de l'Est, du Nord et du Sud, au profit de la discontinuation (ont essayé, mais pas de consommation dans l'année précédente). L'usage fréquent est plus rare (2,7 %). Après ajustement sur le niveau économique et l'âge, être un garçon, fumer du tabac (surtout fréquemment), boire de l'alcool (surtout fréquemment) et avoir été ivre (surtout plus de deux fois) augmentent significativement et indépendamment la probabilité d'avoir fumé du cannabis au moins une fois dans la vie. Enfin, il existe un lien entre consommation quotidienne de tabac et d'alcool, ivresses fréquentes et passage d'un usage expérimental à un usage plus fréquent. Ainsi, chez les jeunes, les consommations de psychotropes sont rarement isolées, et il semble exister des sous-groupes plus particulièrement à risque qui méritent toute l'attention de la recherche et la prévention.