Especially in some states (including Washington, Alaska and Colorado), marijuana has been legalized in the past few years. But in order to accurately understand how common drugs and alcohol are used, we need to have a deep understanding of statistical data.
The usage rate of drugs and alcohol is actually quite difficult to calculate. Researchers must rely on survey data, and respondents may lie to avoid embarrassment. The most rigorous and widely recognized data I can find about the use of drugs and alcohol in American universities comes from the "Monitoring the Future" study of 20 15. Some of the most interesting findings include:
-4 1% students (45% men and 39% women) have used illegal drugs.
-30% of college students had smoked marijuana before 2006, while 38% of college students (40% male, 37% female) had tried marijuana before 20 15 years.
-4.6% of college students use marijuana daily, while more than 1 1% of Americans of the same age who don't go to college smoke marijuana daily.
-Two-thirds of the students think that smoking marijuana is not dangerous.
-The proportion of students who use illegal drugs other than marijuana is about 1-5%, depending on the drugs. An exception is the medical stimulant Adderall (Adling), which has been used by about 65,438+00% students.
-Last year, 79% of college students drank alcohol, and last month, 63% drank alcohol.
In the past two weeks, 38% of the students have drunk alcohol. In the past two weeks, 32% people drank more than five glasses at a time. In the past two weeks, 13% students drank more than 10 kinds of wine. In the past two weeks, more than 5% students drank more than 15 kinds of wine.
-4% of college students smoke every day.
What should we learn from these data?
First of all, the use of drugs and alcohol is very common on university campuses, especially drinking. This is in line with my personal experience, even in a well-known "villain" school like the University of Chicago. However, surprisingly, I didn't see too much pressure of "taking drugs and drinking". Drugs (mainly marijuana) and alcohol are easily available if students want them. But if they don't want to try, no one will force them.
Second, although marijuana is widely used, other illegal drugs, such as cocaine, painkillers, heroin or ecstasy, are quite rare. This is also quite in line with my college experience. Occasionally "exciting drugs", such as ecstasy or cocaine, appear at parties. However, for most students, they dare not try these drugs easily because of the great risks. The exception to this rule is Adling, which can increase one's attention and mental acuity. Therefore, some students use Adling to improve their learning ability, especially before the final exam.
Third, drinking is particularly common, but drinking is much less than drinking. On any night, you will definitely find someone who has a few beers in any university dormitory. However, there is a big difference between drinking with friends after a long day of study and drinking too much at a party. The former is far less harmful to health than the latter (there is evidence that moderate drinking is good for health). Therefore, drinking is very common. However, for most participants, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
In a word, drinking and using alcohol are quite common in almost every American university, but the degree may not be as serious as everyone thinks. Drug abuse (except marijuana) is very rare, and heavy drinking is limited to a few people. Although drugs and alcohol will be used by some freshmen, students can easily avoid them.