14 DAY TRIAL // A new study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that adolescent girls do drugs and alcohol at least as often as boys.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) reported the findings today. "Over the last few years, we have seen overall drug use decrease among teens-boys and girls. But the trends of substance use among our adolescent girls are alarming," said ONDCP Director John P. Walters.
There are few areas in this field where boys are still on top. For example, boys prefer Ecstasy more than girls. The drug of choice for girls is marijuana; they prefer it over cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, and all other illicit drugs combined, according to ONDCP. Girls also smoke cigarettes and abuse prescription drugs more than boys. And since 2003, girls have started to catch up with boys on the abuse of alcohol.
The study shows that the reasons why boys and girls use drugs and alcohol are different. While boys use them mostly for fun, many girls also use them in order to achieve some sort of psychological remedy. They use them for changing their mood, in order to boost their confidence, and as a sort of miraculous solution of escaping problems without actually solving them. The desire to lose weight also makes girls abuse diet pills four times more than boys.
Given the reasons why most teen girls use drugs, their drug of choice seems a very unfortunate choice, as marijuana is related to an increased risk of depression. In general, irrespective of sex and age, it increases the risk of depression by two times, while in adolescent girls by five times.
"Girls are telling us that they understand the risks associated with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes," Walters said. "But that doesn't appear to be stopping them from using."