Does substance use affect educational outcomes? : there is little evidence that substance use reduces educational

A non-trivial portion of traffic fatalities involve alcohol or illicit drugs. But does the use of alcohol and illegal substances - which is linked to depression, suicide, and criminal activity - also reduce academic performance? Recent studies suggest that drinking alcohol has a negative, if modest, effect on grades, and although students who use illegal substances are more likely to drop out of school than those who do not, this may reflect the influence of other, difficultto-measure factors at the individual level, such as personality.