Most experts now think that experimenting with illegal drugs has more to do with a child's readiness to take risks, or break rules, and the drugs availability, than it has to do with the drug itself. There is no evidence to suggest that teenagers who use cannabis will go on to use any other illicit drug. A very small number of teenagers may try other illicit drugs. For example, according to the 1993 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey, six per cent of young people between the ages of 14 and 24 had tried amphetamines and one per cent had tried cocaine . These figures are very low and most young people wouldn't even think of trying illegal drugs.
Teenagers use alcohol, tobacco and analgesics more than other drugs.
They get alcohol and tobacco from the same places as everyone else does - at home, from family and friends, or from shops, pubs or parties. In NSW it is against the law to sell alcohol or cigarettes to anyone under 18. However, these laws are difficult to enforce. Sometimes teenagers enjoy looking older than they are and their fashions and sophistication make it difficult for many adults to tell the difference between an adolescent who is 15 and one who is 18. They are found in most homes, as adults use them.