Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Forty-second session, Vienna, 16-25 March 1999. Youth and drugs: a global overview

Drug abuse continues to emerge as a strategy among youth to cope with the problems of unemployment, neglect, violence and sexual abuse. At the same time, there is considerable abuse of drugs among socially integrated young people, in particular in the industrialized world. This maybe attributed in part to the fact that significant portions of the world’s youth population are being exposed to a culture that appears to be more tolerant towards the use of drugs. The data available present a situation of concern in terms of the abuse of drugs among young people in almost every region of the world. Lifetime prevalence rates of abuse of cannabis is high in many regions and is on the increase. Abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants is diffused and abuse of "ecstasy", while stabilizing at a high level in some western European countries, is rising in others and spreading to other regions. There are high variations in the prevalence of cocaine, but it is reported to be increasing again among youth in the United States of America. Injection of heroin is expanding among youth in eastern Europe, while there are signs of a rise in abuse of heroin by smoking (United States and western Europe). Abuse of inhalants is common and remains a serious problem for many young people. The changing perception of cannabis among young people, the increasing abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants and the widespread abuse of other drugs indicate a need for innovative approaches and the adaptation of prevention strategies aimed at reducing the demand for illicit drugs.