Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T11:36:24.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cannabis and other drug use by tertiary students in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

Bridie O'Reilly  and
Janice Jessen
Bridie O'Reilly*
Affiliation:
School of Health Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Australia
Janice Jessen
Affiliation:
Janice Jessen, School of Health Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Australia
*
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, 0909, Australia. E-mail: bridie.o'reilly@.cdu.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cannabis has been reported to be associated with impaired educational attainment in adolescents, reduced school performance and the potential for underperformance in adults engaged in occupations requiring high-level cognitive skills. The current study examined the extent and patterns of cannabis and other drug use among 386 tertiary students in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The sample was mainly female (72%), half were aged under 25 years and 52% were in the first year of tertiary study. Cannabis use was prevalent among students, with 68.3% ever using it, 32.4% in the last year and 22.4% with recent use (last six months). The current pattern of cannabis use was significantly associated with age and gender. The most common reasons for using cannabis were to unwind (45.6%) or become stoned (33.7%). Close to half (52.3%) of recent users were not at all concerned about their cannabis use and 63.2% did not think they needed to reduce consumption. In the last six months, 84.5% of students had used alcohol, 12.1% amphetamine, 8.4% ecstasy, 6.8% non-medical use of benzodiazepines, 4.6% hallucinogens, 1.6% inhalants and 1.1% opiates. A quarter (23.6%) of students had used alcohol and cannabis on the same occasion. The results are discussed in relation to the utility of traditional awareness programs and the desirability of appropriate and credible intervention strategies.

Type
Articles
Information
South Pacific Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2005 , pp. 18 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © University of Papua New Guinea and Massey University, New Zealand/Aotearoa 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ADCA. (1998). Students Drug Use. Alcohol & Drug Council of Australia “Update” Bulletin Board. Retrieved August 18, 1998 from www.adca.org.au Google Scholar
AIHW. (2002). 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: State and Territory Supplement. AIHW Cat No PHE 37. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Drug Statistics Series No 10). http://aihw.gov.au Google Scholar
Anderson, J. (1999). Keep our children alive. Lecture, Salvation Army Hall, Sydney, 19 06.Google Scholar
Aveyard, H. (1999). Illicit drug use: information-giving strategies requested by students in higher education. Health Education Journal, 58, 239–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergen-Cico, D. (2000). Patterns of substance abuse and attrition among first-year students. Journal of First Year Experience & Students in Transition, 14(3), 61–75.Google Scholar
Brooke, J. S., Balka, E. B., & Whiteman, M. (1999). The risks for late adolescence of early adolescent marijuana use. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1549–1554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Degenhardt, L., Hall, W., & Lynskey, M. (2001). Alcohol, cannabis and tobacco use among Australians: A comparison of their associations with other drug use and use disorders, affective and anxiety disorders and psychosis. Addiction, 96, 1603–1614.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeJong, W., & Winsten, J.A. (1998). The Media and the Message: Lessons Learned from Past Public Service Campaigns. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, H., Rinn, T., Kunert, H.J., Moeller, M.R., Poser, W., Schilling, L., Gigerenzer, G., & Hoehe, M. (1999). Specific attentional dysfunction in adults following early onset of cannabis use. Psychopharmacology, 142(3), 295–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, D.M., & Horwood, L.J. (1997). Early onset cannabis use and psychosocial adjustment in young adults. Addictions, 92, 279–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzsimmons, G., & Cooper-Stanbury, M. (2000). 1998 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: State and Territory results. AIHW Cat No PHE 26. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Drug Statistics Series).Google Scholar
Hall, W., Solowij, N., & Lemon, J. (1994). The health and psychological consequences of cannabis use. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series no 25, Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.Google Scholar
Hall, W., & Solowij, N. (1999). Adverse effects of cannabis. Lancet, 352, 1611–1616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeynes, W.H. (2002). The relationship between the consumption of various drugs by adolescents and their academic achievement. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 28(1), 15–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynskey, M. Coffey, C., Degenhardt, L., Carlin, J., & Patton, G. (2003). A longitudinal study of the effects of adolescent cannabis use on high school completion. Addiction, 98, 685–692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynskey, M., & Hall, W. (1998). Cannabis use among Australian youth. NDARC Technical Report No. 66. Sydney: National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre.Google Scholar
Lynskey, M., & Hall, W. (2000). The effects of adolescent cannabis use on educational attainment: a review. Addiction, 95(11), 1621–1630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGeorge, J., & Aitken, C.K. (1997). Effects of cannabis decriminalisation in the Australian Capital Territory on university students' patterns of use. Journal of Drug Issues, 27(4), 785–793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moffat, A. (1998). Drug alert: A guide to illicit drugs for parents, teachers, everyone. Sydney: Pan Macmillan.Google Scholar
Newcombe, T. & Bentler, P. (1988) Consequences of adolescent drug use: Impact on the lives of young adults. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
O'Malley, P.M., & Johnston, L.D. (2002). Epidemiology of alcohol and other drug use among American college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 62(2), 23–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Reilly, B., Carr, S., Bolitho, F., Roberts, C., & Jessen, J. (2001). Social ecology of substance use in tertiary students: Preliminary findings. South Pacific Journal of Psychology (Special Issue: Substance Use in Northern Australia), 13(1) 13–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Reilly, B., & Townsend, J. (1999). Young People and Substance Use in the Northern Territory in 1998. Living With Alcohol program, Darwin: Government Printing Services.Google Scholar
Rey, J.M., Sawyer, M.G., Raphael, B., Patton, G.C., & Lynskey, M. (2002). Mental health of teenagers who use cannabis: Results of an Australian survey. British Journal of Psychiatry, 100, 216–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rickard, M. (2001). Reforming the old and refining the new: A critical overview of Australian approaches to cannabis. Research paper No 6 2001-2. Information & Research Services, Sydney: Department of the Parliamentary Library Google Scholar
Robinson, S., Yianni, E., Frizzell, S. & Rehfeldt, L. (1989). Tobacco, marijuana and you: The production of a brochure for tertiary students. Drug Education Journal of Australia, 3(1), 27–33.Google Scholar
Schuster, C., O'Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., Johnston, L.D., & Schulenberg, J. (2001). Adolescent marijuana use and adult occupational attainment: a longitudinal study from age 18 to 28. Substance Use and Misuse, 36(8), 997–1014.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thies, C.F., & Register, C.A. (1993). Decriminalisation of marijuana and the demand for alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. The Social Science Journal, 30(4), 385–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toumbourou, J. (2002). Preventing Harmful Drug Use. Prevention Research Evaluation Report 1. Melbourne: Centre for Adolescent Health.Google Scholar
UNODCCP (2002). Global illicit drug trends 2002. Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Wellings, K., Wadsworth, J., Johnson, A.M., Whitaker, L., & Field, B. (1995). Provision of sex education and early sexual experience: the relation examined. British Medical Journal, 311, 417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, P & McAllister, I. (2001). A cohort analysis of illicit psychoactive drug use in Australia 1988-1998. South Pacific Journal of Psychology (Special Issue: Substance Use in Northern Australia), 13(1), 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar