Statistics and Indicators

Although ACT secondary students’ reported illicit drug use remained relatively stable between the 2014 and 2017 surveys, there have been significant decreases over the reporting periods. This is most obvious in the 'used at least once illicit substance in their lifetime' category, which dropped from 37.5% in 1996 to 17.4% in 2017. During the same period, the proportion of students who reported used an illicit drug at least once in the' past year' decreased from 32.5% to 15.7%, respectively, 'past month' from 17.9% and 5.1%, respectively, and 'past week' from 11.7% to 2.5%, respectively.

Please note: any illicit drug refers to the use of amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, hallucinogens or marijuana.