Young drug users prefer being high to being healthy

Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University and IREFREA, a European body which researches drug use and its prevention, have been looking into 'recreational' drug use and its impact on people's happiness and well-being. They studied 1,341 16-35 year-olds in nine European cities. Starting to use drugs at a younger age and using them more frequently were linked to poorer life satisfaction and more suicidal thoughts and hopelessness. Younger people who used drugs more frequently placed more value on having fun than maintaining long-term health. People who were homosexual or bisexual were more likely to report hopelessness, suicidal thoughts and dissatisfaction with life and more likely to prefer fun to health. People who had started using cocaine at a younger age were more likely to have thought about killing themselves in the last 12 months.

Sumnall, H. ... [et al] - A choice between fun or health? Relationships between nightlife substance use, happiness and mental well-being Journal of Substance Use April 2010, 15(2), 89-104