Additional psychoactive substance use in adolescents hospitalised with acute alcohol intoxication

Abstract

Introduction: Simultaneous use of alcohol and drugs is associated with additional risks for ad-olescents’ health and well-being. The aim of this study was to assess if adolescents hospitalised with acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) stay between drug users and non-drug users. Discussion: Approximately 9.2% of Dutch adolescents have used cannabinoids at least once in their life time, which is comparable with data from a national survey on drug use in America. Based on these observations, we may conclude that the use of cannabis during an episode of AAI is similar to other Dutch teenager use and they are not at higher risk of drug use. Conclusions: This study shows additional drug abuse in more than 10% of adolescents with an AAI. More research is needed to gain insight into the long term consequences of alcohol and drug abuse in these patients.