NCJ Number
220942
Date Published
December 2007
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article used data from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study to describe the significant, long-term reduction in youth drug use.
Abstract
Results indicate that long-term trends of decreasing youth drug use have continued from 2001 to 2007: use of any illicit drug has dropped 24 percent; marijuana use has decreased 25 percent; steroid use has dropped by one third; ecstasy use has declined 54 percent; and methamphetamine use has declined by 64 percent. Reduction in illegal drug use affects decreases in other substance abuse: use of alcohol, including binge drinking and cigarette smoking has decreased by 15 and 33 percent, respectively. The challenges that remain include youth prescription drug abuse, which is second only to marijuana in abuse. Oxycontin use increased 30 percent from 2002 to 2007; the use of Vicodin has not decreased. Additionally, there is a 7-percent decrease in perceived harmfulness of using Ecstasy occasionally, compared to a 4-percent decrease in overall perceived harmfulness of using Ecstasy. The University of Michigan conducted the 2007 survey on 48,025 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in a nationally representative sample of 403 public and private schools.