translated from Spanish: Study notes that alcohol and drug use among students in the Coquimbo region would have dropped:

Nearly 2,000 students, from the eighth basic to the fourth half of municipal schools, subsidized individuals and individuals from the Coquimbo region, participated in the thirteenth national drug study among the school population conducted by the National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Use (SENDA). A study taken in the communes of Coquimbo, Illapel, Ovalle, La Serena and Monte Patria that reflected that the Coquimbo Region experienced a drop in alcohol and drug use between 2017 and 2019.The Intendent of Coquimbo, Pablo Herman, highlighted the results of this work and commented that “effectively, we can see that our students have lowered the consumption , especially in marijuana, alcohol and tobacco. We have a duty to protect our young people and children from substances that are very harmful to their health and development. That is why the Government of President Piñera will continue to promote cross-sectoral work and generate initiatives that will allow us to keep them away from them and for that, the commitment of all of us is also very important.” In terms of alcohol consumption, the study found that in 2017 there were 27.4% of the school population that consumed it per month; and in 2019 the figure fell to 25.3%, or 2.1 percentage points. Fernanda Alvarado, Regional Director of SENDA, added that “this is very good for the region, because it speaks that the work we are doing as a service have had results. To this, we should also note that around marijuana use, in 2017 32.3% of young people consumed it per year, and in 2019 those numbers dropped to 24.1%, more than 8% variation” and emphasized that “we are strengthening the protective factors through the Drug Prevention Plan, but called main is parents to always have care with children , girls and adolescents”. This survey also measured tobacco use which was reduced by 1% in the same measurement period and stated that the percentage of students who say their parents would be extremely upset if they were caught with a few drinks of (57.5% in 2019), also the proportion of students who say their parents would be extremely upset if they knew they had tried marijuana (72.4% in 2019). Similarly, the use of other drugs, such as Cocaine (3.4% in 2019) and Non-prescription tranquilizers (7.4% in 2019), remained stable.

Original source in Spanish