Marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy in this day and age: A quantitative investigation of the “aging out” process

ABSTRACT

Objective: Building upon the normalization literature, the present study tests the relationship between age and the use of marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy. The purpose of the research is to (1) evaluate whether age remains a strong predictor of illicit drug use and (2) to test the claims made by the normalization thesis about the extension of drug use into adulthood and the delay of the “aging out” phase of drugs.

Method: The data for the study was retrieved from the 2015 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS). The statistical method used in the study was logistic regression.

Findings: The findings of the study suggest that age remains a relevant predictor of marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy use. While the findings suggested that 18–22 year olds have the highest likelihood of past-year recreational drug use, the models predicted that large proportions of Canadians in their twenties, thirties, forties, and even fifties have also used recreational drugs in the past year.

Conclusions: The findings provide support for the normalization thesis’ claims about the extension of illicit drug use into adulthood and the delaying of the “aging out’ phase. Future studies are warranted to better understand the “aging out” process for recreational drug use.

KEYWORDS:

• Normalization thesis
• cannabis
• cocaine
• ecstasy
• aging-out

Notes

1. We use the term “marijuana” hereon out because it is the term used in the CTADS. While we recognize the stigma associated with the term “marijuana,” and we personally prefer to use the term “cannabis,” we have opted to use the term “marijuana” in this paper to be consistent with the terminology of the survey-set.