WASHINGTON — The number of teenagers reporting marijuana use is up slightly over the last 2 years, along with the proportion of those reporting any illicit drug use, according to the biannual Monitoring the Future survey, which is conducted for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The survey is being conducted by the University of Michigan for NIDA and queries 8th, 10th, and 12th graders about drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and also about attitudes and behaviors. This year, 46,097 students from 389 public and private schools participated.
The increase in illicit drug use was largely accounted for by the rise in marijuana use because it is the most widely used drug, reportedly used by 33% of 12th graders, said Lloyd Johnston, Ph.D., the lead author of the survey and a research professor at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor. Alcohol is the most widely used substance; 66% of 12th graders said they'd used alcohol in the previous year.
Dr. Johnston, joined by NIDA director Nora Volkow and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director, R. Gil Kerlikowske all said the report contained both good and bad news.
“We are containing the drug use problem among America's young people,” said Mr. Kerlikowske, who joined the ONDCP after a 37-year career in law enforcement, most recently, as chief of police for Seattle. But, said Mr. Kerlikowske, “is containment really what we're after? I would argue that certainly, it is not.”
He said that President Obama would issue his National Drug Control Strategy in February.
The number of high school seniors reporting methamphetamine use in the past year was 1.2%, the lowest since teens were first asked about the drug in 1999. Cigarette smoking also is at an all-time low among the 8th, 10th, and 12th graders surveyed. A total of 11% percent of high school seniors said they smoked daily, which is half the peak rate of 25% in 1997.
Seniors also reported declining use of hallucinogens—particularly LSD—and cocaine, and younger students said that it was harder to access cocaine, sedatives, heroin, and crystal methamphetamine. And they also had an increased perception that LSD, amphetamines, sedatives, heroin, and cocaine were dangerous.
Attitudes about harmfulness generally portend future use trends, said Mr. Kerlikowske. Marijuana rates stayed steady for most of the last 5 years but had a slight uptick each of the last 2 years. Meanwhile, over the same period, the number of eighth graders who reported that marijuana use was harmful fell from 76% to 70%. Fewer teenagers report personal disapproval of marijuana, also.
Rates of prescription drug use reported by survey participants had not risen but are still at peak levels, Dr. Johnston said. A total of 10% of seniors reported Vicodin use in the last 12 months, and 6% reported using amphetamines and tranquilizers.