Parents booklet - Talking with your kids about drugs
The facts about illicit drugs speak for themselves
PDF printable version of The facts about illicit drugs speak for themselves (PDF 49 KB)Teenage drug use
In 2004, 29 per cent of teenagers aged between 14 and 19 years had used an illicit drug in their lifetime.
(Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2005)
Obtaining drugs
About 70 per cent of cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine users obtained their drug from friends or acquaintances.
(Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2005)
Mental health
In 2004, people aged 18 years and over who had used illicit drugs in the past month were twice as likely to report high levels of psychological distress as those who had not.
(Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2005)
The cost to our community
The estimated social cost of illicit drug abuse to the Australian community is around $6 billion.
(Source: National Drug Strategy, Monograph Series No.49, 2002)
Drug hospitalisations
In 2003–04, there were 8,335 hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis relating to opioids (including heroin), amphetamine, or cannabis.
(Source: Roxburgh, A. & Degenhardt, L. (2006). Hospital stays related to illicit drugs in Australia, 1993-2004. Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre)
Drugs and crime
Recent surveys found that 79 per cent of adult males detained on property offences tested positive to a drug of some type (excluding tobacco and alcohol).
(Source: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2006)
In 2004, 10 per cent of sentenced prisoners were imprisoned for drug-related offences. The most common drug-related offence for which people were imprisoned was dealing/trafficking drugs.
In 2005–06, cannabis accounted for 72 per cent of illicit drug arrests. From 1996–97 to 2005–06 the proportion of arrests for amphetamine-type stimulants increased from 5 per cent to 15 per cent.
A 2003–04 study showed that 88 per cent of juvenile detainees had used an illicit drug in the six months prior to their arrest. The study also showed that juvenile detainees were ten times more likely than adolescents in the general population to use amphetamine and hallucinogens and 16 times more likely to use inhalants.
(Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2004 and 2007)
Drug deaths
In 2003, there were 1,705 deaths attributable to illicit drugs.
(Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007)
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