Study: Doing drugs as a teen won’t ruin your life if you quit by this age

By Tom Campbell via SWNS

Dabbling in drugs when you're a teen doesn't scupper chances of success in later life - as long as you quit in your twenties, scientists found.

Teenagers who stop taking drugs like cannabis and amphetamines before the age of 30 do not face lower prospects in life, according to a new study.

Around one in four students - or 24 percent - are believed to have tried drugs, with cannabis being the most popular, researchers said.

At the same time, some 10 percent of teenagers in the UK will have tried harder drugs by their 17th birthday.

Now scientists have found making sure the next generation stops using before they reach adulthood and it's too late could be the key to their success.

Professor Jake Najman, an author of the study at the University of Queensland in Australia, said: "Adolescent behavior problems predict drug use at 21 years, and drug use and life success at 30 years.

"But teenage drug use or disorders don’t appear to predict life success in adulthood among those who’ve ceased taking drugs before the age of 30."

Data on 2,350 children who were enrolled in a 40-years study were checked upon at key life stages.

Children were given a series of tests when they turned 14 to measure their IQ, mental health and level of aggression or delinquency.

Their mothers were also asked to provide information about how many partners they had and whether they came into contact with the police.

At the age of 21 and 30, participants were asked about their relationship with cannabis and amphetamines.

Three categories were used to determine how successful their life was after the age of 30, including socioeconomic factors, quality of life and intimate relationships.

A majority of those who had taken drugs were no longer using at clinically significant levels by the age of 21, the researchers found.

This said people who used cannabis after turning 30 were less likely to be successful.

Prof Najman added: "What seems to best predict low life success outcomes is the persistence (over a longer course of time) of cannabis and amphetamine use.

"Our findings linking problem behavior and school problems in adolescence with drug use and life success represent an opportunity for policymakers to alter the young person’s life trajectory.”

An estimated 3.2 million people in the UK have tried drugs, of which 1.3 million have tried Class As - heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD.

Prof Najman said: "Given the very high rates of drug use by adolescents, more research is needed into interventions to prevent the persistence of drug use into adulthood which is strongly linked to lower life success."

The findings were published in the journal Addiction Research & Theory.