This is How Many College Students Drink Alcohol and Smoke Pot
This is How Many College Students Drink Alcohol and Smoke Pot
On an average day, 1.2 million college students drink alcohol, according to a new report.
The study, which surveyed about 25,400 full and part-time college students ages 18 to 22, also found that on an average day 703,759 college students used marijuana. The point of the report, which comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is to understand the prevalence of drinking and drug use among American college students.
The study authors surveyed the students from 2011 to 2014 and found that nearly 10% of full-time college students say they drank alcohol for the first time in the past year, and 6% said they used illicit drugs for the first time. In total, on an average day, 2,179 full-time college students drink alcohol for the first time, 1,299 start using marijuana, 649 start using hallucinogens, 559 start the non-medical use of prescription pain relievers, and 447 start using cocaine.
“College is a time when young people transition to adulthood, with many living independently and making behavioral health decisions without direct parental oversight,” the study authors write. “Substance use constitutes one of the most serious public health issues for young people in the United States.”
You can read more about college students’ substance use, here.
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