Transgender adolescents have higher rates of illicit and prescription drug use when compared to non-transgender adolescents, according to a new study.
The study, published in the Journal of School Health, found transgender students were 2.5 times more likely than non-transgender students to use cocaine and methamphetamines in their lifetime and twice as likely to report the misuse of prescription pain medication.
The findings were the result of a secondary analysis of the 2013-2015 California Health Kids Survey (CHKS) — a statewide survey of elementary, middle and high school students — that examined the recent, in-school and lifetime use of drugs and alcohol among 4,778 transgender and 630,200 non-transgender students.