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High School and Youth Trends
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Since 1975,
the Monitoring the Future (MTF)
survey has been administered
annually to study the extent
of and beliefs about drug
use among 12th-graders. The
survey was expanded in 1991
to include 8th- and
10th-graders. It is funded
by NIDA and is conducted by
the University of Michigan's
Institute for Social
Research. The goal of the
survey is to collect data on
past month, past year, and
lifetime (1)
drug use among students in
these grade levels. The 33rd
annual study was conducted
during 2007.(2)
Decreases or stability in
abuse patterns were noted
for most drugs from 2006 to
2007. Below are the key
findings, based on data from
the 2007 MTF survey. For
individual drugs, a decrease
or increase is noted only if
statistically significant;
other trends are considered
stable and are not
highlighted below.
Positive
Trends
-
Any
illicit drug
– From 2006 to 2007,
8th-graders reporting
lifetime use of any
illicit drug declined
from 20.9 percent to
19.0 percent, and past
year use declined from
14.8 percent to 13.2
percent. Since 2001,
annual prevalence has
fallen by 32 percent
among 8th-graders,
nearly 25 percent among
10th-graders, and 13
percent among
12th-graders. Since the
peak year in 1996, past
year prevalence has
fallen by 44 percent
among 8th-graders. The
peak year for past year
abuse among 10th- and
12th-graders was 1997;
since then, past year
prevalence has fallen by
27 percent among
10th-graders and by 15
percent among
12th-graders.
-
Marijuana
– Past year use of
marijuana among 8th
graders significantly
declined from 11.7
percent in 2006 to 10.3
percent in 2007, and is
down from its 1996 peak
of 18.3 percent. Annual
prevalence of marijuana
use has fallen by 33
percent among
8th-graders, 25 percent
among 10th-graders, and
14 percent among
12th-graders since 2001.
Disapproval of trying
marijuana “once or
twice,” smoking
marijuana
“occasionally,” or
smoking marijuana
“regularly” (3)
increased significantly
among 8th-graders from
2006 to 2007, and
remained stable for
10th- and 12th-graders
for the same period.
-
Methamphetamine
– Lifetime and past year
methamphetamine use
decreased among 8th- and
12th-graders between
2006 and 2007; lifetime
use among 8th-graders
declined from 2.7
percent to 1.8 percent,
and lifetime use among
12th-graders declined
from 4.4 percent to 3.0
percent. Past year
methamphetamine use was
reported by 1.1 percent
of 8th-graders in 2007
(a decline from 1.8
percent in 2006), 1.6
percent of 10th-graders,
and 1.7 percent of
12th-graders (a decline
from 2.5 percent in
2006).
-
Inhalants
– After some increases
in recent years, there
were no significant
changes from 2006 to
2007 in the proportion
of students in the 8th-,
10th-, and 12th-grades
reporting lifetime, past
year, or past month
abuse of inhalants.
-
Cigarettes/Nicotine
– Among 8th-graders,
cigarette use declined
between 2006 and 2007 in
most categories;
lifetime use dropped
from 24.6 percent to
22.1 percent, and past
month use fell from 8.7
percent to 7.1 percent.
Daily cigarette smoking
among 8th-graders
dropped from 4.0 percent
to 3.0 percent, down
from its 10.4 percent
peak in 1996. Lifetime
cigarette use was
reported by 34.6 percent
of 10th graders, and
46.2 percent of 12th
graders, and smoking
half a pack or more a
day was reported by 1.1
percent of 8th-graders,
2.7 percent of
10th-graders, and 5.7
percent of 12th-graders
in 2007.
-
Crack/Cocaine
– Past month abuse of
crack among 10th-graders
declined from 0.7
percent in 2006 to 0.5
percent in 2007. From
2001 to 2007, students
in 8th and 10th grades
showed declines of crack
use of 29.6 percent and
58.0 percent,
respectively. Past month
abuse of cocaine
(powder) among
12th-graders declined
from 2.4 percent in 2006
to 1.7 percent in 2007.
Disapproval of trying
cocaine “once or twice”
increased among
8th-graders from 86.5
percent in 2006 to 88.2
percent in 2007, and
disapproval of trying
crack “once or twice”
increased from 87.2
percent to 88.6 percent.
Disapproval did not
change among 10th- or
12th-graders for the
same period.
-
Anabolic
Steroids
– Perceived availability
of steroids dropped
among 10th-graders, from
30.2 percent in 2006 to
27.7 percent in 2007,
but remained stable
among 8th- and
12th-graders. Steroid
use in all three grade
levels remained
unchanged from 2006 to
2007.
-
Alcohol
– Tenth-graders reported
a modest decline in past
year use of flavored
alcoholic beverages,
from 48.8 percent in
2006 to 45.9 percent in
2007. Eighth-graders
reporting disapproval of
trying “one or two
drinks of an alcoholic
beverage” increased from
51.3 percent in 2006 to
54.0 percent in 2007.
Disapproval of having
“five or more drinks
once or twice each
weekend” increased from
82.0 percent in 2006 to
83.8 percent in 2007.(4)
Negative
Trends
-
Prescription Drugs
– Prescription drug use
remains unacceptably
high with virtually no
drop in nonmedical use
of most individual
prescription drugs. This
year, for the first
time, researchers pulled
together data for all
prescription drugs as a
measurable group
(including amphetamines,
sedatives/barbiturates,
tranquilizers, and
opiates other than
heroin such as Vicodin
and OxyContin) and found
that 15.4 percent of
high school seniors
reported nonmedical use
of at least one
prescription medication
within the past year.(5)
-
MDMA
(Ecstasy)
– The 2007 results
represent the third year
in a row showing a
weakening of attitudes
among the youngest
students regarding MDMA.
Among 8th-graders, the
perceived harmfulness of
taking MDMA
“occasionally” decreased
from 52.0 percent to
48.6 percent from 2006
to 2007. Among
10th-graders, the
perceived harmfulness
decreased from 71.3
percent to 68.2 percent.
Perceived risk of MDMA
use remained unchanged
for 12th-graders from
2006 to 2007.
Concurrently, between
2004 and 2007 past year
use of MDMA increased in
10th-graders from 2.4 to
3.5 percent, and between
2005 and 2007 past year
use of MDMA increased
among 12th-graders,
going from 3.0 to 4.5
percent.
-
Hallucinogens
– Among 10th-graders,
the perceived
harmfulness of taking
LSD “once or twice”
decreased from 38.8
percent in 2006 to 35.4
percent in 2007. The
perceived harm of taking
LSD “regularly”
decreased from 60.7
percent in 2006 to 56.8
percent in 2007.
Disapproval of using LSD
“once or twice”
significantly decreased
for 10th-graders from
71.2 percent in 2006 to
67.7 percent in 2007;
disapproval of taking
LSD “regularly” dropped
from 74.9 percent in
2006 to 71.5 percent in
2007.
-
Heroin/Opiates
–
Among 8th-graders, past
month use of injecting
heroin increased from
0.2 percent in 2006 to
0.3 percent in 2007.
Past year heroin use
without a needle
increased among
12th-graders from 0.6
percent in 2006 to 1.0
percent in 2007.
OxyContin use in the
past year was reported
by 1.8 percent of
8th-graders, 3.9 percent
of 10th-graders, and 5.2
percent of 12th-
graders. Vicodin use in
the past year was
reported by 2.7 percent
of 8th-graders, 7.2
percent of 10th-graders,
and 9.6 percent of
12th-graders, remaining
stable at relatively
high levels for each
grade.
(1)
“Lifetime” refers to use at
least once during a
respondent’s lifetime. “Past
year” refers to use at least
once during the year
preceding an individual’s
response to the survey.
“Past month” refers to use
at least once during the 30
days preceding an
individual’s response to the
survey. “Daily” refers to an
individual’s drug use 20 or
more times in the 30 days
prior to the survey, except
for cigarettes, where the
definition is one or more
cigarettes per day in the 30
days prior to the survey.
(2) For the 2007 MTF, 48,025
students in a nationally
representative sample of 403
public and private schools
were surveyed about
lifetime, past year, past
month, and daily use of
drugs, alcohol, and
cigarettes and smokeless
tobacco. The latest data are
online at
www.drugabuse.gov
(3) In addition to studying
drug use among 8th-, 10th-,
and 12th-graders, MTF
collects information on
three attitudinal indicators
related to their drug use.
These indicators are
perceived risk of harm in
taking a drug, disapproval
of others who take drugs,
and perceived availability
of drugs.
(4) For information on the
health effects of alcohol,
visit the Web site of the
National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
at
www.niaaa.nih.gov.
(5) For more information on
the misuse or nonmedical use
of pain medications or other
prescription drugs, please
visit
www.drugabuse.gov and
click on Prescription
Medications under Drugs of
Abuse |
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Monitoring the
Future Study: Trends
in Prevalence of
Various Drugs for
8th-Graders,
10th-Graders, and
12th-Graders
2004-2007
| |
8th-Graders |
10th-Graders |
12th-Graders |
| |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
Any
Illicit Drug
Use |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
21.5
15.2
8.4 |
21.4
15.5
8.5 |
20.9
14.8
8.1 |
[19.0]
[13.2]
7.4
|
39.8
31.1
18.3 |
38.2
29.8
17.3 |
36.1
28.7
16.8 |
35.6
28.1
16.9
|
51.1
38.8
23.4 |
50.4
38.4
23.1 |
48.2
36.5
21.5 |
46.8
35.9
21.9
|
|
Marijuana/Hashish |
|
lifetime
past year
past month
daily |
16.3
11.8
6.4
0.8 |
16.5
12.2
6.6
1.0 |
15.7
11.7
6.5
1.0 |
14.2
[10.3]
5.7
0.8
|
35.1
27.5
15.9
3.2 |
34.1
26.6
15.2
3.1 |
31.8
25.2
14.2
2.8 |
31.0
24.6
14.2
2.8
|
45.7
34.3
19.9
5.6 |
44.8
33.6
19.8
5.0 |
42.3
31.5
18.3
5.0 |
41.8
31.7
18.8
5.1 |
|
Inhalants |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
17.3
9.6
4.5 |
17.1
9.5
4.2 |
16.1
9.1
4.1 |
15.6
8.3
3.9 |
12.4
5.9
2.4 |
13.1
6.0
2.2 |
13.3
6.5
2.3 |
13.6
6.6
2.5
|
10.9
4.2
1.5 |
11.4
5.0
2.0 |
11.1
4.5
1.5 |
10.5
3.7
1.2
|
|
Hallucinogens |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
3.5
2.2
1.0 |
3.8
2.4
1.1 |
3.4
2.1
0.9 |
3.1
1.9
1.0 |
6.4
4.1
1.6 |
5.8
4.0
1.5 |
6.1
4.1
1.5 |
6.4
4.4
1.7 |
9.7
6.2
1.9 |
8.8
5.5
1.9 |
8.3
4.9
1.5 |
8.4
5.4
1.7 |
|
LSD |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
1.8
1.1
0.5 |
1.9
1.2
0.5 |
1.6
0.9
0.4 |
1.6
1.1
0.5 |
2.8
1.6
0.6 |
2.5
1.5
0.6 |
2.7
1.7
0.7 |
3.0
1.9
0.7 |
4.6
2.2
0.7 |
3.5
1.8
0.7 |
3.3
1.7
0.6 |
3.4
2.1
0.6 |
|
Cocaine |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
3.4
2.0
0.9 |
3.7
2.2
1.0 |
3.4
2.0
1.0 |
3.1
2.0
0.9 |
5.4
3.7
1.7 |
5.2
3.5
1.5 |
4.8
3.2
1.5 |
5.3
3.4
1.3 |
8.1
5.3
2.3 |
8.0
5.1
2.3 |
8.5
5.7
2.5 |
7.8
5.2
[2.0] |
|
Crack
Cocaine |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
2.4
1.3
0.6 |
2.4
1.4
0.6 |
2.3
1.3
0.6 |
2.1
1.3
0.6 |
2.6
1.7
0.8 |
2.5
1.7
0.7 |
2.2
1.3
0.7 |
2.3
1.3
[0.5] |
3.9
2.3
1.0 |
3.5
1.9
1.0 |
3.5
2.1
0.9 |
3.2
1.9
0.9 |
|
Heroin |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
1.6
1.0
0.5 |
1.5
0.8
0.5 |
1.4
0.8
0.3 |
1.3
0.8
0.4 |
1.5
0.9
0.5 |
1.5
0.9
0.5 |
1.4
0.9
0.5 |
1.5
0.8
0.4 |
1.5
0.9
0.5 |
1.5
0.8
0.5 |
1.4
0.8
0.4 |
1.5
0.9
0.4 |
|
Tranquilizers |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
4.0
2.5
1.2 |
4.1
2.8
1.3 |
4.3
2.6
1.3 |
3.9
2.4
1.1 |
7.3
5.1
2.3 |
7.1
4.8
2.3 |
7.2
5.2
2.4 |
7.4
5.3
2.6 |
10.6
7.3
3.1 |
9.9
6.8
2.9 |
10.3
6.6
2.7 |
9.5
6.2
2.6 |
|
Alcohol |
|
lifetime
past year
past month
daily |
43.9
36.7
18.6
0.6 |
41.0
33.9
17.1
0.5 |
40.5
33.6
17.2
0.5 |
38.9
31.8
15.9
0.6 |
64.2
58.2
35.2
1.3 |
63.2
56.7
33.2
1.3 |
61.5
55.8
33.8
1.4 |
61.7
56.3
33.4
1.4 |
76.8
70.6
48.0
2.8 |
75.1
68.6
47.0
3.1 |
72.7
66.5
45.3
3.0 |
72.2
66.4
44.4
3.1 |
|
Cigarettes
(any use) |
|
lifetime
past month
daily
1/2
pack+/day |
27.9
9.2
4.4
1.7 |
25.9
9.3
4.0
1.7 |
24.6
8.7
4.0
1.5 |
[22.1]
[7.1]
[3.0]
1.1 |
40.7
16.0
8.3
3.3 |
38.9
14.9
7.5
3.1 |
36.1
14.5
7.6
3.3 |
34.6
14.0
7.2
2.7 |
52.8
25.0
15.6
8.0 |
50.0
23.2
13.6
6.9 |
47.1
21.6
12.2
5.9 |
46.2
21.6
12.3
5.7
|
|
Smokeless
Tobacco |
|
lifetime
past month
daily |
11.0
4.1
1.0 |
10.1
3.3
0.7 |
10.2
3.7
0.7 |
9.1
3.2
0.8 |
13.8
4.9
1.6 |
14.5
5.6
1.9 |
15.0
5.7
1.7 |
15.1
6.1
1.6 |
16.7
6.7
2.8 |
17.5
7.6
2.5 |
15.2
6.1
2.2 |
15.1
6.6
2.8 |
|
Steroids |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
1.9
1.1
0.5 |
1.7
1.1
0.5 |
1.6
0.9
0.5 |
1.5
0.8
0.4 |
2.4
1.5
0.8 |
2.0
1.3
0.6 |
1.8
1.2
0.6 |
1.8
1.1
0.5 |
3.4
2.5
1.6 |
2.6
1.5
0.9 |
2.7
1.8
1.1 |
2.2
1.4
1.0 |
|
MDMA |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
2.8
1.7
0.8 |
2.8
1.7
0.6 |
2.5
1.4
0.7 |
2.3
1.5
0.6 |
4.3
2.4
0.8 |
4.0
2.6
1.0 |
4.5
2.8
1.2 |
5.2
3.5
1.2 |
7.5
4.0
1.2 |
5.4
3.0
1.0 |
6.5
4.1
1.3 |
6.5
4.5
1.6 |
|
Methamphetamine |
|
lifetime
past year
past month |
2.5
1.5
0.6 |
3.1
1.8
0.7 |
2.7
1.8
0.6 |
[1.8]
[1.1]
0.6 |
5.3
3.0
1.3 |
4.1
2.9
1.1 |
3.2
1.8
0.7 |
2.8
1.6
0.4 |
6.2
3.4
1.4 |
4.5
2.5
0.9 |
4.4
2.5
0.9 |
[3.0]
[1.7]
0.6 |
|
Vicodin |
|
past year |
2.5 |
2.6 |
3.0 |
2.7 |
6.2 |
5.9 |
7.0 |
7.2 |
9.3 |
9.5 |
9.7 |
9.6 |
|
OxyContin |
|
past year |
1.7 |
1.8 |
2.6 |
1.8 |
3.5 |
3.2 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
5.0 |
5.5 |
4.3 |
5.2 |
|
Cough
Medicine
(non-prescription)* |
|
past year |
-- |
-- |
4.2 |
4.0 |
-- |
-- |
5.3 |
5.4 |
-- |
-- |
6.9 |
5.8 |
Additional Trend
Data for years
1995-2006.
* A
question on the past
year abuse of
non-prescription cough
medicine was added in
2006. |
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