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Health Concerns
Drug and Alcohol Use Statistics
Major findings from the Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey (CADUMS) 2010
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Salvia appears to be a substance that is tried largely by youth.
- Among Canadians 15 years and older, the prevalence of past-year cannabis use decreased from 14.1% in 2004 to 10.7% in 2010.
- The prevalence of past-year cannabis use decreased, among youth aged 15 to 24 years, from 37.0% in 2004 to 25.1% in 2010.
- Among Canadians 15 years and older, the prevalence of past-year cocaine or crack decreased from 1.9% in 2004 to 1.2% in 2010, while past-year use of hallucinogens (0.9%), ecstasy (0.7%) and speed (0.5%) is comparable to the rates of use reported in 2004.
- Among youth, aged 15 to 24 years, past-year use of at least one of 5 illicit drugs (cocaine or crack, speed, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and heroin) decreased from 11.3% in 2004 to 7.0% in 2010.
- The rate of drug use by youth 15-24 years of age remains much higher than that reported by adults 25 years and older: three times higher for cannabis use (25.1% versus 7.9%), and almost nine times higher for past-year use of any drug excluding cannabis (7.9% versus 0.8%).
- The rates of psychoactive pharmaceutical use and abuse remains comparable to the rates reported in 2009: 26.0% of respondents aged 15 years and older indicated that they had used an opioid pain reliever, a stimulant, or a sedative or tranquilizer in the past year while 0.3% reported that they used any of these drugs to get high in the past year.
- Overall, 1.6% of Canadians reported using Salvia in their lifetime and 0.3% reported use in the past year. The prevalence of lifetime use among youth (15-24 years of age) was 6.6% while only 0.6% of adults reported having ever used this substance.
- Among Canadians 15 years and older, the prevalence of past-year alcohol use was 77.0%, not statistically different from previous years.
- Less than three quarters of youth (71.5%) reported consuming alcohol in the past year. This is a decrease from 2004 when 82.9% of youth reported past-year use of alcohol.
- The prevalence of heavy frequent drinking among youth 15 to 24 years of age, was approximately three times higher than the rate for adults 25 years and older (9.4% versus 3.3%).
