Joint use of drugs and alcohol

To determine the relationships between the different patterns of drinking and drug use in the general population.

The data from three nationwide surveys conducted in Finland in 1998, 2002 and 2004 were pooled into one dataset (n = 7,227).

Population aged 15-69.

Use of illicit drugs was analyzed in relation to annual alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking, frequenting of pubs and restaurants, and the misuse of prescribed drugs. Respondents were divided into five different groups according to their involvement in drug cultures, i.e. 'no contact with drug cultures', 'some contact with drug cultures', 'drug experimenters and ex-users', 'cannabis users' and 'multidrug users'.

The prevalence of drug use increased along with the annual alcohol consumption, and polysubstance use was most prevalent among heavy drinkers. Heavy episodic drinking and frequenting of pubs and restaurants increased in parallel with involvement in drug cultures. Misuse of prescribed drugs was most prevalent among multidrug users.

Polysubstance use patterns reveal an interlacing of alcohol and drug cultures. However, standard measures employed in alcohol and drug research are insufficient to capture the phenomenon in detail, and more research and the development of new approaches are needed.