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TAG CLOUD
December 14, 2012
LATEST AUSTRALIAN YOUTH DRUG STATISTICS RELEASED
The most recent "Australian Secondary School Students' Use of Tobacco, Alcohol and Over-the counter and Illicit Substances in 2011" report has been published. This report is considered the largest of its kind focused specifically on young people aged 12 - 17. The 2011 study was completed by just under 25 000 students across Australia. A number of findings from this study are of interest. Cigarette smoking remains low, with reductions amongst the 12-15 year old age range, with smoking rates in 16-17 year olds remained stable. The proportion of young people who have ever consumed alcohol decreased, while the number of young people consuming alcohol at risky levels appeared to be stable.
Download the "Australian Secondary School Students' Use of Tobacco, Alcohol and Over-the counter and Illicit Substances in 2011" (1.5MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
July 6, 2012
WORLD DRUG REPORT RELEASED: CHECK OUT THE INTERACTIVE MAP
You might have heard about the recent release of the United Nations "World Drug Report 2012". This annual report attempts to collate prevalence rates of drug use from all across the world. As with past years, Australia has the highest rate of Ecstasy use in the world and close to the highest rates of cannabis use. There are a number of problems with the methodology, making it difficult to reliably compare prevalence rates across countries, but still the report makes for interesting reading. If you're not up for a huge read, have a look at the interactive map developed by the The Guardian newspaper, which presents the data in a fantastic interactive format. We're sure you'll have as much fun with this as we've had. Enjoy!
The Guardian Drug Use Map of the World
Posted in: Research
June 29, 2012
MEASURING DRUG USE THROUGH WASTEWATER
The Australian Institute of Criminology have published a report titled "Measuring drug use patterns in Queensland through wastewater analysis". This paper provides an analysis of drugs and their metabolites in sewerage, in order to estimate population prevalence of drug use. In this report, a regional Queensland town with a population of 150 000 people is examined. This research is in its early days and there remains some problems with the estimates (especially where assumptions are made regarding standard doses of illicit drugs). Still, this remains an interesting and potentially useful way of measuring rates of drug use in a population.
"Measuring drug use patterns in Queensland through wastewater analysis" (730KB PDF)
Posted in: Research
May 25, 2012
WHAT DO AUSTRALIANS THINK ABOUT THE LEGAL STATUS OF DRUGS?
There has been a great deal of media in recent weeks focusing on the legal status of currently illegal drugs. The Drug Policy Monitoring Project at the University of New South Wales, have sought to clarify some elements of the debate, by producing a bulletin which summarises existing evidence on the Australian public's views on the legal status of currently illegal drugs. Using data drawn from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, it appears that the Australian public have a nuanced view, which distinguishes between "legalisation" and "decriminalisation." Over half the sample in the most recent survey agreed with the decriminalisation of personal use of cannabis, heroin and methamphetamine, while less than one quarter support the legalisation of cannabis, heroin, ecstasy and methamphetamine.
Posted in: Research
April 26, 2012
ARE MEASUREMENTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE'S ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE RELIABLE?
Numerous reports have been published indicating high rates of alcohol use disorders amongst young people, but questions remain about the way this is measured. Some argue that we are vastly over-estimating alcohol use disorders amongst young people, by inappropriately measuring "tolerance". In the most recent edition of "Centrelines", the newsletter of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), Dr Louise Mewton discusses the topic, and concludes that in fact there is a high likelihood we have overestimated rates of alcohol use disorders in young people.
Download the latest edition of "Centrelines" here.
Posted in: Research
February 3, 2012
QUEENSLAND NATIONAL MINIMUM DATA SET 2009/10
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have released their annual report "Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Queensland 2009-10: Findings from the National Minimum Data Set (NMDS)". The report includes data on from 118 government funded alcohol and drug treatment agencies, representing 23 090 treatment episodes. Cannabis was nominated as the principle drug of concern in 61% of treatment episodes for young people aged 10-19, and 43% of episodes for people aged 20-29.
Posted in: Research
December 16, 2011
AUSTRALIA'S WELFARE 2011
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) have published their biennial report on welfare services in Australia. The report includes detailed information on a range of indicators including the aging population, the types of family structures, the distribution of disability, engagement in schooling and education, unemployment, homelessness and vulnerability. The report provides a snapshot of the demand for welfare services and can assist services looking to plan for the future. The report includes comparisons to other developed countries, so we better understand how we rank when compared with other similar countries.
Posted in: Research
November 18, 2011
Drugs in Australia 2010: Tobacco, alcohol and other drugs
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) have published their annual summary of Australians' consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The report draws on a range of different national reports and includes data on the use of treatment services, drug-related health issues, and issues related to law enforcement. The report contains a range of interesting information including the finding that 8% of people aged 16-85 have had a drug use disorder of some kind in their lifetime (including harmful use / abuse and / or dependence).
Posted in: Research
October 21, 2011
2011 IDRS / EDRS KEY FINDINGS AVAILABLE
Every year, the National Drug and Alcohol Research and Education
Centre (NDARC) conduct two studies of regular drug
users. The Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and the
Ecstasy and Related Drugs Study (EDRS) interview people in all
states of Australia, and looks at trends in price, purity and
availability of various drugs. The results from the
most recent study indicates increasing use of LSD and cocaine
amongst regular ecstasy users, while use of ecstasy (MDMA)
continues to decline due to low purity levels. Amongst
the injecting drug users, heroin remained the most commonly
reported drug of choice but there were increases in the number of
people indicating methamphetamine as their drug of choice.
IDRS 2011 Bulletin
Posted in: Research
July 27, 2011
2010 NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY REPORT
The 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey was conducted between late-April and early-September 2010. This was the 10th survey in a series which began in 1985, and was the fifth to be managed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). More than 26,000 people aged 12 years or older participated in the survey, in which they were asked about their knowledge of and attitudes towards drugs, their drug consumption histories, and related behaviours.
The Survey report shows positive and significant reductions since 2007 in daily tobacco smoking; mixed findings on alcohol consumption and risk; and a small overall rise in illicit drug use. In terms of attitudes to drugs, excessive alcohol use and tobacco smoking were nominated as the two most serious concerns to the community - and there were higher levels of support than previously for tobacco and alcohol harm reduction policies.
For more information or to review the report, visit the AIHW website here: AIHW National Drug Stategy Household Survey 2010 Report
Posted in: Research
