How Strong is the Evidence That Illicit Drug Use by Young People is an Important Cause of Psychological or Social Harm?: Methodological and Policy Implications of a Systematic Review of Longitudinal, General Population Studies

• NCJ Number: 207127
• Journal: Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 281-297
• Author(s): John Macleod; Rachel Oakes; Thomas Oppenkowski; Helen Stokes-Lampard; Alex Copello; Ilana Crome; George Davey Smith; Matthias Egger; Mathew Hickman; Ali Judd
• Date Published: August 2004
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study reviewed the available longitudinal evidence concerning the link between illicit drug use by young people and subsequent psychological or social harm.

Abstract

Illicit drug use among young people is a widespread phenomenon, with about 4 million young people in the United Kingdom reporting illicit drug use annually. Drug use among young people has been associated with deleterious physical, psychological, and social harm. However, much of this research has been conducted with clinical populations defined by their problematic use of illicit drugs. The United Kingdom Department of Health, Drug Misuse Research Initiative commissioned a systematic review of the longitudinal evidence relating to illicit drug use by young people and ensuing psychological or social deleterious outcomes in order to inform harm-reduction policies. The results of this review are presented, along with an assessment of the strength of the evidence and its implication for policy. Extensive longitudinal evidence was available for cannabis only; the review suggests that there is only weak causal evidence for the link between cannabis use by young people and deleterious psychosocial outcomes. Evidence of the link between other drug use and psychosocial harm is practically non-existent. More specifically, cannabis use was associated with lower educational attainment and greater use of other drugs, but the causal mechanism was questionable. The causal mechanisms through which lower educational attainment and greater use of other drugs are realized substantially affect intervention policy. More research is necessary to clearly illuminate the link between illicit drug use among young people and psychosocial harm in order to inform evidence-based harm-reduction policies. Tables, references