Young Australians, illicit drug use and harm reduction

Young adults (18-25 years) are the age-group most likely to use illicit drugs in Australia.

But who’s most at risk? What drugs? Where? When? Why?

And, how can we frame messaging to have a positive impact on young adults’ drug use?

To find out more, we’ve examined the evidence to identify the high-risk subgroups and behaviours most likely to benefit from harm reduction efforts as well as the types of messages, settings and channels that are most effective when it comes to reducing drug harms in young adults.

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A note on the data. The evidence summary predominantly relies on the latest data from NDSHS and EDRS (2019). The closest available age-related data on drug use in Australia is 18-24 years. NDSHS data on age groups is sporadic for some data sets, so ages 14-19 and 20-29 are used where necessary. Given the NDSHS does not collect information from vulnerable people residing in institutions or experiencing homelessness, it is likely that the data is underestimated. With these caveats in mind, the following data on illicit drug use among young adults is presented.

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