Drug use among college undergraduates: current use and 10-year trends

A random sample of 10% of the undergraduate student body at a rural New England university were surveyed as to their use of drugs in 1987. Over 87% of the surveyed students returned questionnaires. Results indicated that alcohol is clearly the "drug of choice" on the campus, and the second most used drug is marijuana. The 1987 survey findings were also compared to similar studies conducted on the campus in 1977 and 1983. Over the decade there has been a decrease in daily, weekly, and monthly use of marijuana. Cocaine use was greatest in the 1983 survey, but the 1987 figures were still somewhat higher than those of 1977. Hallucinogen use has remained low across all three observation points. Students indicating they had substance-dependent parents showed more use of cocaine, "ecstasy," and sedative-hypnotic drugs than their fellow students.