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TORONTO — A new survey shows the use of prescription painkillers by Ontario high school students may be a cause for concern.
The latest issue of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey shows that 21 per cent of students in Grades 7 through 12 admit to having taken a prescription pain drug for non-medical purposes in the year before the survey was administered.
Just over three-quarters of the students say they got the pills at home.
The survey shows that illicit drug use among Ontario high school students has stabilized after a previous decline.
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But there was a slight increase in the reported use of OxyContin, with 2 per cent of students' reporting having used the narcotic pain reliever in the 2007 survey, compared with 1 per cent in 2005.
The survey, which is conducted every two years, shows smoking rates among Ontario students is at a historic low, with only 12 per cent reporting that they smoke.
The survey also shows that the use of methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine by Ontario high school students is very low.
A total of 6,323 students in Grades 7 through 12 filled in the 2007 survey, which is administered by the Institute for Social Research at York University in Toronto for the University of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
The sample represents about one million Ontario high school students.
While there has been a general decline in reported use of illicit drugs by Ontario high school students over the past decade, 26 per cent of students reported using cannabis at least once in the past year in the latest survey.
Alcohol remains the drug of choice for students, the survey reveals, with 61 per cent reporting they drink alcohol.
Binge drinking – defined as the consumption of at least five drinks on the same occasion – remains high among students, with 26 per cent saying they are likely to binge drink.
