Illegal Drug Use by Police Cadets in Hungary

Illicit drug use poses a particularly high risk among certain subgroups of society, including trauma-exposed occupations like police officers. Nevertheless, very little is known about the prevalence and types of illicit drug abuse among police personnel. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and patterns of illicit drug use among young police recruits (i.e., police cadets) in Hungary using a cross-sectional questionnaire-based online survey. Our results show that 16.9% of police cadets have ever tried illicit drugs. Drug experimentation was more prevalent among males than females, but the difference was not statistically significant. It was also found that perceived environmental drug use was the most important factor in explaining cadets’ drug experimentation. Drug abuse can significantly impact job performance among officers, and negatively affects the community’s trust for police. Therefore, drug abuse among police students and officers should be addressed as organizational and community-level issues requiring a holistic approach.