Legba Posted September 3, 2007 A new survey shows most young people are aware of the harmful effects of drugs, but it does not stop them experimenting with them. The ORYGEN Research Centre at the University of Melbourne surveyed more than 3,500 young people and 2,000 parents. It found about 85 per cent thought that alcohol and marijuana could lead to mental health problems, including depression. But researcher Dan Lubman says the figures show that knowledge is not leading to a change in behaviour. "Certainly we know that alcohol, tobacco, cannabis use and the experimentation with those drugs is extremely common in adolescents and young adulthood," he said. The Federal Government says its drugs campaign is effective, but Mr Lubman says advertising strategies could be rethought to take the new research into account. "Even though people are strongly endorsing the fact they know using drugs and drinking heavily can increase the risk of mental disorders, we know that doesn't necessarily translate into their own individual behaviour," he said. abc.net.au/news Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
