Although the rate of alcohol consumption among Canadian students has decreased within the past twenty years, the students are still engaging in hazardous drinking. Hazardous drinking is defined as a risky pattern that can cause physical, social and psychological problems. According to the 2015 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, 18 percent of students reported binge drinking within month the survey was taken and one in five reported hazardous drinking. About 25 percent of students also reported that their parents allow them to drink at home, which is where they drink most excessively.

Alcohol is the most accessible to the teenage students, but it is not the only substance they are using. One in five students used cannabis within the past year, many of which used the product via vaping with e-cigarette devices. Twelve percent of students also use these devices to smoke nicotine, and nine percent of students are smoking regular cigarettes. And while the rates of opioid use decreases the rate of ecstasy use increases.

The fluctuating rate of substance use among students is a sign that education on this epidemic is necessary.