There are numerous surveys and analyses on drug use among adolescents and high school students, as it is during adolescence that drug use often begins and may continue into adulthood. In contrast, studies focusing on college students are rarer: this population lacks a national survey database, and opportunities for structured surveys are more limited than in middle or high school. Surveys limited to the student population show that the use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis is particularly widespread among students, but these surveys have a relatively low response rate and do not allow for comparisons between students and other populations. Representative surveys of the adult population help overcome this difficulty by providing large samples that include enough students to conduct a valid statistical analysis. They also provide a control population of similar age that is absent from surveys restricted to students. This issue of Tendances describes the use of psychoactive substances among students, unemployed individuals, and employed individuals aged 18–25 in France in 2005 and compares the three groups with one another; it also reports on some trends since 20001. [author’s abstract]