The age you need to drop your weekend drug habit – according to experts

Party on Wayne!

When it comes to recreational drug use, apparently there's a cut-off point - where if you stop, your life outcomes aren't dramatically affected. And it is later than you probably think. New research suggests those more inclined to experiment can party on - until they're 30. So says the findings of a 16-year study of amphetamine and cannabis use, which was published in a peer-reviewed journal. “Adolescent behaviour problems predict drug use at 21, and drug use and life success at 30. But teenage drug use or disorders don’t appear to predict life success in adulthood among those who have ceased taking drugs before the age of 30,” Professor Najman, of the University of Queensland in Australia, said, according to HuffPostUK. More than 2,300 children born to mothers from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy were involved in the research which aimed to assess the degree to which amphetamine and cannabis use up to the age of 21 predicted life success at age 30. The study tested children at the age of 14 for mental health aggression, delinquency, and IQ and also considered other factors such as a child's contact with police. The use of cannabis and amphetamine was self-reported at specific age points. The authors of the study interviewed participants at the age of 21 about past-drug taking and the impact on behaviour and at that point, one in five reported cannabis use, 0.7% reported amphetamine abuse, and 3% reported use of both drugs. Researchers found that those who’d stopped indulging in drugs by 30 did not have dramatically different life outcomes. When the participants turned 30, life success was analysed and defined according to three categories, which factored in socioeconomic considerations such as income, education, and home ownership. Quality of life and quality of intimate relationships were also assessed. The use of cannabis and/or amphetamines did not independently predict life success at 30, according to the results, which were published in Addiction Research & Theory. Those who continued with high cannabis use after the age of 3o, the study found, were more likely to have high rates of poor life success.

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