Use and perceived ease of obtain ing illicit drugs among teenagers in urban, suburban and rural schools: A UK study

Abstract

In March 1995 a survey of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use was carried out on 7722 teenagers born in 1979 who were attending a sample of 69 state and private schools throughout the United Kingdom. The sample was divided according to the urban, suburban or rural location of the schools, and the use of various psychoactive substances was studied according to this classification. Use of cannabis (marihuana) within the past 30 days and lifetime use of MDMA (ecstasy) were both significantly less common in the rural schools. Access to ecstasy was also seen as more difficult by teenagers in the rural schools. However, these differences were not large and no other significant differences were found. In general, use of illegal substances by 15–16 year olds did not appear to be much different in rural, suburban and urban areas. These findings confirm the increasingly widespread nature of drug use among British youth.