A review of trends in alcohol and cannabis use among young people

This review identifies recent trend studies in alcohol and cannabis use among young people in an attempt to define increases over time, demographic subgroups where changes have taken place, possible future trends and areas where there is a lack of current information. Trend studies on alcohol use are described for eight countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America. Only four countries: Australia, Canada, Norway and the United States of America had trend studies of cannabis use. Rates of alcohol use are reported to have reached a peak and per capita alcohol consumption to have stabilized or decreased in many Western countries since 1975-1976. Rates of cannabis use are reported to have increased remarkably from the late 1960s to the late 1970s although the hazards of cannabis use are becoming more widely recognized.