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4.08 Drug Use

This page includes data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction on the prevalence of illegal drug use among high school students. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) survey asks high school students to report if they have ever used a variety of illegal drugs or taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription. The YRBSS is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in conjunction with the CDC.  There has been a change in methodology from paper survey to online survey.  Surveys in 2017 and prior were paper surveys; the 2018 survey was a mix of paper and online surveys; and surveys 2019 and later were online.  This change could impact the makeup of the groups responding to the survey.  Restraint should be used when making yearly comparisons across this boundary line.

Sources

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

Notes

Cocaine includes all forms of cocaine including powder, crack, and freebase. Using inhalants includes sniffing glue, breathing the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaling paints or sprays to get high. 2013 YRBSS data are used for Wisconsin and the United States where 2015 data was only available for the Fox Cities Region. Regional YRBSS data contains aggregated responses from 10 school districts: Appleton, Freedom, Hortonville, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Little Chute, Neenah, Menasha, Seymour, and Shiocton.

There has been a change in methodology from paper survey to online survey.  Surveys in 2017 and prior were paper surveys; the 2018 survey was a mix of paper and online surveys; and surveys 2019 and later were online.  This change could impact the makeup of the groups responding to the survey.  Restraint should be used when making yearly comparisons across this boundary line.