Recreational Drug Use Amongst Children and Adolescents Presenting to Australian Emergency Departments With Acute Behavioural Disturbance: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomised Controlled Trial

EM Bourke; K Klein; CJ Selman; KJ Lee; A Kochar; D Shellshear; ML Borland; S George; S Jani; D Tham; M Gordon; C Prakash; A Davidson; CL Wilson; N Phillips; G Nieva; JC Knott; FE Babl; SS Craig; H ElGharib; L Page; V Truong; N Loftus; D Kallianiotis; A Carle; A Williams; B Gladanac; S O'Brien; P Clifford; M O'Brien Smith; AM O'Regan; L Properjohn; K Whitten; C Power; G Nieva; S Hughes; L Caruso; K Northcott; N Phillips; A Jones; A Hinde; A Coulson; N Schmidt; J Waghorn; M John-White; R Haataja; Z Wilder; D Thosar; A Athar; S Dalziel; T Sullivan; G Keijzers; S Hearps; M Chandler; K Alleaume-Ross; J Miers; MD Kabir; D Mercuri

Journal article

Recreational Drug Use Amongst Children and Adolescents Presenting to Australian Emergency Departments With Acute Behavioural Disturbance: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomised Controlled Trial

EM Bourke, K Klein, CJ Selman, KJ Lee, A Kochar, D Shellshear, ML Borland, S George, S Jani, D Tham, M Gordon, C Prakash, A Davidson, CL Wilson, N Phillips, G Nieva, JC Knott, FE Babl, SS Craig, H ElGharib Show all

EMA Emergency Medicine Australasia | Published : 2026

DOI: 10.1111/1742-6723.70279

Open access

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the historical and current use of recreational drugs by a trial cohort of youth presenting to the emergency department (ED) whilst experiencing acute behavioural disturbance (ABD). Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a randomised, controlled trial comparing medication management of ABD in children and adolescents aged nine to 17 years who were deemed to require oral sedative medication. Results: Recreational drugs were used by 33% of participants any time prior to enrolment (115/348). Cannabis was the most commonly used (87/348, 25%), followed by amphetamines/methamphetamines (32/348, 9%) and benzodiazepines (26/348, 7%). Conclusion: Recreational drug use may be..

View full abstract