Canadian Postsecondary Education Alcohol and Drug Use Survey, 2019/2020 Published: ()
Summary
Problematic substance use poses a risk to the health and safety of postsecondary students across Canada.
The Canadian Postsecondary Education Alcohol and Drug use Survey (CPADS) contributes to Health Canada’s substance use surveillance strategy, which provides the Government of Canada with vital information on the use of drugs and other substances by Canadians. Surveys like the CPADS provide governments and non-governmental organizations with valuable information that can inform policies and programs that support youth and young adults.
In November 2019, the first cycle of data collection for the CPADS was launched. The goal of this survey is to collect detailed information on patterns of substance use among postsecondary students in Canada, and the impacts that substance use is having on their lives.
Dive into the data
What do the graphs and tables show?
The following key findings are a snapshot of statistics about substance use among postsecondary students 17 to 25 years of age who are studying at a Canadian university or college/CEGEP. A total of 21,297 online survey responses were obtained between November 5, 2019 and March 23, 2020, from four regions in Canada. These include: the Prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), Ontario, Quebec; and the Atlantic (Newfoundland, New Brunswick, PEI, and Nova Scotia). The 2019/2020 CPADS measured substance use among postsecondary students for the following substances: alcohol, cannabis, psychoactive pharmaceuticals (i.e., pain relievers, sedatives, and stimulants), illegal drugs (e.g., heroin, cocaine), vaping products and tobacco.
The figures show key indicators measured in the CPADS by substance. Data in the figures show results for:
- Overall respondents.
- Males vs. females based on the biological sex at birth of respondents.
- Respondent year of study.
The data tables show:
- The data that were used to create the figure.
- Key results from the 2019/2020 survey by substance.
Key Findings are presented for overall results, by respondent's biological sex at birth and year of study.
Technical notes include variable definition, data suppression rules, and other information to interpret the data.
Result Highlights
In general, young adults consume substances at higher levels than the general population and the findings from the 2019/2020 CPADS are consistent with this observation. Key highlights by substance are summarised below. It is important to note that these results are based on self-reported data that may be subject to recall bias and that not all provinces and territories in Canada are represented in this survey. These factors may have resulted in an increase or decrease in the reported prevalence.
Results from the 2019/2020 CPADS indicate that based on self-reported use in the past 12 months, the largest proportion of students consumed alcohol, followed by cannabis and problematic pharmaceutical use.
Alcohol
Figure
- In the past 12 months, 84% of students had consumed alcohol. Alcohol consumption in the past 12 months was higher among females and students in their third year or higher.
Figure 1: Text Description
| Overall | Males | Females | 1st and 2nd year | 3rd year or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol consumption - past 12 months | 84% | 83% | 85%1 | 81% | 89%2 |
- 1 Females were significantly more likely than males to have consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.
- 2 Students in third year or higher were significantly more likely than students in 1st or 2nd year to have consumed alcohol in the past 12 months.
Participants of the 2019/2020 CPADS were asked how familiar they were with Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines (LRDG) and about their alcohol use patterns. Among those who reported consuming alcohol, additional questions were asked to determine which alcoholic beverages they preferred, the quantities of alcohol consumed, alcohol-related harms, protective strategies used to reduce intoxication and about alcohol-impaired driving.
- One in six students (16%) had heard of Canada’s LRDGi (17% males; 16% females).
- The vast majority of survey participants had consumed alcohol in their lifetime (88%), in the past 12 months (84%) and in the past 30 days (77%).
- Male respondents drank more frequently in the past 30 days. The proportion of males drinking once per week or more often was 46%, compared to 35% among females in the past 30 days.
- When students were asked which alcoholic beverages they had consumed over the past 30 days, the most common response was spirits and liquors (69%), followed by beer (67%).
- In the past 30 days, 60% of respondents had consumed alcohol in a pattern consistent with heavy drinking, defined as having 4 or more drinks for females and 5 or more drinks for males on one occasion in the past 30 days.
- Approximately 74% of respondents who had consumed alcohol in the past month reported feeling drunk. Among past-month drinkers, males were more likely to report feeling drunk once a week or more often (28% males, 17% females).
- Among students who drank alcohol within the past 12 months, 56% had experienced at least one alcohol-related harm in the past month. Respondents could indicate more than one harm, and the top five harms reported were that they experienced a hangover (33%), had less energy or felt tired (25%), drank on nights when planned not to (22%), said or did something embarrassing (22%), or felt sick to their stomach or threw up (17%).
- Approximately 31% of all respondents experienced at least one harm within the past month as a result of another student’s drinking. The five most commonly reported secondary harms were the need to take care of another student (14%), that their sleep was affected (13%), another student upset or disappointed them (11%), that their studies were interrupted (8%) and that another student caused an argument with them (7%).
- Almost all respondents (98%) who consumed alcohol in the past 30 days employed protective strategies “always” or “usually” to slow down alcohol consumption, avoid intoxication and prevent dangerous alcohol-related consequences.
- Respondents were asked to indicate if they had ever been a passenger in a car driven by someone who consumed two or more alcoholic drinks in the past two hours or if they had ever driven after drinking alcohol themselves. Among past-12 month drinkers, the proportion of students who reported driving within two hours of consuming at least two drinks was 9%, with males more likely to do so than females (12% males; 6% females). One in six (16%) of students reported ever being a passenger with a driver who had recently consumed alcohol.
Cannabis and polysubstance use
Figure
- Within the past 12 months, 48% of all respondents had used cannabis. Past year use of cannabis was greater among male respondents (51% males; 46% females) and among students in 3rd year or higher (45% 1st/2nd year; 53% 3rd year or higher).
Figure 9: Text Description
| Overall | Males | Females | 1st and 2nd year | 3rd year or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis use - past 12 month use | 48% | 51%1 | 46% | 45% | 53%2 |
- 1 Males were significantly more likely than females to have consumed cannabis in the past 12 months.
- 2 Students in third year or higher were significantly more likely than students in 1st or 2nd year to have consumed cannabis in the past 12 months.
- Respondents were asked if they had seen or heard education campaigns, and public health or safety messages about cannabis in various locations since the Cannabis Act came into force on October 17, 2018. The most common locations for students to have seen or heard these messages was on social media (74%), followed by school (71%), publicly displayed posters or billboards (51%) and TV/radio (50%). Seven percent (7%) of students reported that they had not noticed any education campaigns or public health messages.
- Within the past 12 months, 48% of all respondents had used cannabis. Past year use of cannabis was greater among male respondents (51% males; 46% females) and among students in 3rd year or higher (45% 1st/2nd year; 53% 3rd year or higher).
- Approximately 33% of respondents had used cannabis in the past 30 days (36% males, 30% females). Approximately 8% of students had used cannabis on a daily or almost daily basis (5+ days/week) within the past month (9% males, 6% females).
- Among respondents who had used cannabis in the past 12 months:
- Approximately half of respondents (49%) indicated using the same amount of cannabis since legalisation and regulation, a quarter (25%) indicated using more cannabis and 18% used less.
- The most common types of cannabis products used were dried flower/leaf (74%), followed by edibles (59%), vape pens (40%), hashish/kief (24%), cannabis oil for oral use (24%); and concentrates/extracts (17%). A higher of percentage of males reported using dried flower (77% males; 70% females), hashish/kief (29% males; 18% females) and cannabis concentrate/extracts (21% males; 12% females), while a higher percentage of females reported using edibles (57% males; 61% females) and topical products (4% males; 7% females).
- Forty-three percent (43%) reported they had purchased the cannabis they used from a legal source. The top sources to obtain cannabis were from a legal storefront (34%), from a friend (25%), shared among friends (14%), from a legal online source (9%), from an illegal online source (5%), from a dealer (4%), from a family member (3%) and from an illegal storefront (3%).
- Among students who had used cannabis in the past 12 months, 17% reported that they had driven within two hours of smoking or vaporizing cannabis. A higher proportion of males reported driving within two hours of smoking or vaporizing cannabis than females (20% males; 14% females). One third (31%) of all respondents reported being a passenger in a car driven by someone who had consumed cannabis within 2 hours of using cannabis.
- Among those who reported using cannabis in the past three months, Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) scores indicated that, approximately 33% were at low risk of developing cannabis related health problems, 61% were at moderate risk and 6% were likely to be cannabis dependent.
- Respondents who had consumed cannabis in the past 12 months were asked whether they had used other substances at the same time as cannabis. In the past 12-months, the substances most commonly used in combination with cannabis were alcohol (79%), followed by tobacco (42%), illegal hallucinogens (12%), illegal stimulants (10%), prescription stimulants (8%), prescription opioids (5%), prescription sedatives (4%) and illegal opioids (1%).
Psychoactive pharmaceuticals use
Figure
- Overall, 36% of respondents used at least one opioid pain reliever, stimulant or sedative ( i.e., including both therapeutic and problematic use) in the past 12 months. Approximately, 24% used pain relievers, 12% used stimulants and 9% used sedatives.
Figure 13: Text Description
| Overall | Males | Females | 1st and 2nd year | 3rd year or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain relievers | 24% | 20% | 28%2 | 26%3 | 23% |
| Stimulants | 12% | 14%1 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| Sedatives | 9% | 5% | 12%2 | 8% | 9% |
- 1 Males were more likely than females to use stimulants in the past 12 months.
- 2 Females were more likely than males to use pain relievers in the past 12 months.
- 3 Students in 1st and 2nd year were more likely than students in 3rd year or higher to use pain relievers in the past 12 months.
- Overall, 36% of respondents used at least one opioid pain reliever, stimulant or sedative in the past 12 months. Females reported higher rates of psychoactive pharmaceutical use than males (32% males, 40% females).
- Among those who reported using psychoactive pharmaceutical in the past 12 months, 37% reported problematic use (representing 15% of all students), and this was more common among male than female respondents (40% versus 35%). Problematic use of stimulants was higher than problematic use of other classes of psychoactive pharmaceuticals at 60%.
- Among those who used pharmaceuticals in the past 12 months for reasons other than prescribed, the main reasons for each pharmaceutical product included: to help them sleep (opioid pain relievers: 46%), to get high/for the feeling they caused (sedatives: 61%) and to cram for exams (stimulants: 56%).
Illegal drug use
Figure 15. Past 12 month use of illegal drugs
- Approximately 15% of participants reported using at least one illegal drug during the past 12 months.
Figure 15: Text Description
| Overall | Males | Females | 1st and 2nd year | 3rd year or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocaine or crack | 7% | 8%2 | 6% | 6% | 9%3 |
| Non-Prescription Amphetamines | 2% | 2%2 | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Methamphetamine | 0% | 1%* | 0.3%8 | 0.5%* | # |
| Ecstasy or similar designer drugs | 6% | 6%2 | 6% | 5% | 7%3 |
| Salvia | 0% | 0.6%* | # | 1%* | # |
| Hallucinogens | 8% | 11%2 | 5% | 8% | 9%3 |
| Sniffed glue, gasoline or other solvents | 1% | 0.7%* | 0.4%* | 1% | # |
| Heroin | # | # | # | # | # |
| Synthetic cannabinoids | 0% | 0.4%* | # | 0.4%* | # |
| Mephedrone | # | # | # | # | # |
| BZP/TFMPP | # | # | # | # | # |
| Any illegal drug1 | 15% | 18%2 | 12% | 13% | 17%3 |
- * Moderate sampling variability, interpret with caution.
- # High sampling variability - although an estimate may be determined from the table, data should be suppressed.
- 1 Includes at least one illegal drug listed in this table.
- 2 Males were more likely than females to have used this drug in the past 12 months.
- 3 Students in 3rd year or higher were more likely than students in 1st or 2nd year to have used this drug in the past 12 months.
- CPADS participants were asked if they had used any of the following 11 illegal drugs in the past 12 months: cocaine and crack; non-prescription amphetamines; methamphetamine; ecstasy or others similar designer/club drugs; hallucinogens; heroin; sniffed glue, gasoline or other solvents; salvia; synthetic cannabinoids; mephedrone; and BZP/TFMPP. Approximately 15% of participants reported using at least one of these substances during the past 12 months.
- The proportion of respondents who used hallucinogens in the past 12 months was 8%, followed by cocaine (7%), and ecstasy or others similar designer/club drugs (6%).
- The prevalence of any illegal drug use in the past 12 months was higher among males (18%) than females (12%) and higher among older respondents in 3rd year or higher (17%).
Smoking tobacco and vaping
Figure
- Two percent of students reported smoking daily, while 8% reported smoking occasionally (not in the past month, but from time to time). Male respondents were more likely to report smoking occasionally (9% males; 7% females).
Figure 16: Text Description
| Overall | Males | Females | 1st and 2nd year | 3rd year or more | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily smoker | 2% | 2% | 2%1 | 2%3 | 2% |
| Occasional smoker | 8% | 9%1 | 7% | 8% | 8% |
| Other tobacco smoker (pipe, cigar, shisha) | 4% | 5%1 | 3% | 4% | 5%4 |
| Former smoker (quit smoking within the past 12 months) | 3% | 3%1 | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Former smoker (quit smoking >12 months ago) | 3% | 4%1 | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Never smoked | 80% | 76% | 84%2 | 80% | 79% |
- 1 Males are significantly more likely than females to smoke at this frequency.
- 2 Females are significantly more likely than males to have never smoked.
- 3 Students in 1st and 2nd year were significantly more likely to smoke daily.
- 4 Students in 3rd year or higher were significantly more likely to have smoked other tobacco products.
- Current cigarette smoking (daily and occasional) was reported by 10% of CPADS respondents in 2019-2020. Two percent of students reported smoking daily, while 8% reported smoking occasionally (not in the past month, but from time to time). Male respondents were more likely to report smoking occasionally (9% males; 7% females), whereas there was no difference between sexes for daily smoking.
- CPADS found that 6% of respondents reported use of any form of vaping product at least once in the past month but not in the past week, 4% vaped at least once per week, and 7% vaped daily or almost daily. Male respondents were more likely to have vaped or used an e-cigarette daily or almost daily (9% males; 5% females).
- Among those who vaped or used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, a number of different substances were vaped at least once in the past month. Approximately 91% vaped nicotine, 32% vaped cannabis and 13% reported vaping flavouring liquids, however respondents may have used more than one of these substances during this time period.
Acknowledgements
These data were made possible through collaboration with 41 postsecondary institutions across Canada. The CPADS is conducted in collaboration with the Postsecondary Education Partnership-Alcohol Harms (PEP-AH), a network of universities and colleges from across Canada that have partnered with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) to support campus efforts to reduce the harms related to alcohol consumption. We would also like to acknowledge PEP-AH’s contribution to the CPADS questionnaire content.
More information and related material
- The CPADS Toolkit and associated resources provide tools for PEP-AH members wishing to use the Canadian Postsecondary Education Alcohol and Drug use Survey (CPADS) to monitor alcohol use and harms at their institution. The toolkit explains how to generate buy-in for CPADS, plan the course of the survey, and share and use results. Please find more information here: https://pepah.ca/cpads-toolkit/
- To request access to the CPADS dataset or to enquire about your schools participation in this survey, please contact CPADS@advanis.net
- Statistics Canada. National Cannabis Survey. Table 13-10-0383-01 Prevalence of cannabis use in the past three months, self-reported
- Canadian Cannabis Survey- 2019. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/ services/publications/drugs-health-products/canadian-cannabis-survey-2019-summary.html
- Health Reports. What has changed since legalisation? Roteerman. M.
. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2020002/article/00002-eng.htm.
References
iCanada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Additions. Available: https://ccsa.ca/canadas-low-risk-alcohol-drinking-guidelines-brochure (accessed 2020 Jun. 03)
ii2020 Canadian Cannabis Survey, Health Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/research-data/canadian-cannabis-survey-2020-summary.html
iiiAlcohol Consumption Measures. National Institute on Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism. Available: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AssessingAlcohol/measures.htm (Accessed 2020 Jun. 03)
ivWhite et. al. Students lack knowledge of standard drink volumes: Implications for definitions of risk drinking based on survey data. Available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1097/01.ALC.0000158836.77407. E6?sid=nlm%3Apubmed (first published May 3, 2006).
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