Drug Use by Selected Population Groups - Drug Use By Youths

Drug use may begin before birth, but habituation tends to start in school. Appropriately enough, the nation's most comprehensive survey of drug use in youth is called Monitoring the Future (MTF). It is conducted annually by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan under the sponsorship of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The survey began in 1975 and initially focused on seniors in high school; it was then known as the National High School Senior Survey. Since 1991,

TABLE 4.3
Annual average drug use by pregnant females, by demographic characteristics, 2002-03
[Numbers in percentages]
SOURCE: "Table 7.63B. Any Illicit Drug Use in the Past Month among Females Aged 15 to 44, by Pregnancy Status and Demographic Characteristics: Percentages, Annual Averages Based on 2002 and 2003 NSDUHs," in Index for 2003 NSDUH: Detailed Tables, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, 2004, http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nhsda/2k3tabs/PDFindex.htm (accessed February 11, 2005)

		Pregnancy status
Demographic characteristic	Totala	Pregnant	Not pregnant
Total	10.2	4.3	10.4
Age
15-17	16.5	12.8	16.5
18-25	16.4	7.5	16.9
26-44	6.8	1.6	7.0
Hispanic origin and race
Not Hispanic or Latino	10.8	4.7	11.0
White	11.4	4.4	11.6
Black or African American	9.5	8.0	9.4
American Indian or Alaska Native	15.4	*	16.3
Native Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander	12.6	*	12.8
Asian	4.3	*	4.4
Two or more races	15.4	*	15.9
Hispanic or Latino	7.2	3.0	7.4
Trimesterb
First	N/A	7.7	N/A
Second	N/A	3.2	N/A
Third	N/A	2.3	N/A
*Low precision; no estimate reported.
N/A: Not applicable.
Note: Any illicit drug includes marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or any prescription-type psychotherapeutic used nonmedically.
aEstimates in the Total column are for all females aged 15 to 44, including those with unknown pregnancy status.
bPregnant females aged 15 to 44 not reporting trimester were excluded.

MTF has also surveyed the drug use behavior of eighth and tenth graders and of young adults aged nineteen to twenty-eight. MTF, in effect, surveys drug use in the age categories that use drugs most intensively. The latest MTF chronicles findings from 2004 (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2004.pdf). As shown earlier from data collected by SAMHSA, drug use is principally a youth phenomenon if legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco) are excluded.

Prevalence

A picture of drug use is presented in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3 from 1975 to 2003 for high school seniors and from 1991 to 2003 for eighth and tenth graders. The data in Figure 4.3 show the percentage of youths in these categories who used any illicit drug within the last twelve months of each year's survey date. According to the survey, the pattern mirrors that of the population as a whole. Drug use as measured here peaked for seniors in FIGURE 4.2
Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who have ever used any illicit drug, 1975-2003
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Trends in Illicit Drug Use Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders," in Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005) 1979, when more than half of all seniors (54.2%) used some kind of drug; usage then declined steadily to 1992, when 27.1% of seniors used drugs. Thereafter, usage increased again and reached a second peak for seniors in 1997 (42.4%). Thereafter use of any illicit drugs by seniors has been declining gradually as measured by MTF in 2003.

The White House's 2004 National Drug Control Strategy tracks a similar curve in drug usage by eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders combined, beginning in 1991. Figure 4.4 demonstrates that use of any illicit drug in the past month peaked in 1996 and steadily declined thereafter. MTF also collected data for eighth and tenth graders beginning in 1991. As demonstrated in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3, the youngest age group—eighth graders—appears to "lead" usage trends. This group signaled the new increase in drug usage a year before it began for tenth graders and seniors. Eighth graders reached their peak a year FIGURE 4.3
Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who used any illicit drug in the past year, 1975–2003
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Trends in Illicit Drug Use Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders," in Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005) ahead of tenth graders in 1996; since that time eighth-grade use of any illicit drug has been decreasing every year.

Race and Gender

Data for high school seniors, for whom more than a quarter century of observations are available, show that drug use by African-American youths follows the same up-and-down patterns as use by whites and Hispanics, but African-American youths use drugs less than the other two major groups. According to MTF, over the 1977-2003 time frame, using two-year averages, white seniors used illicit drugs more than the other two groups except in 1992, when Hispanic senior drug use matched whites, and in 2000, when Hispanic seniors surpassed whites by 2%.

Male seniors consistently used drugs more than female seniors, but the overall pattern of use was similar FIGURE 4.4
Percent of secondary school students using illicit drugs, 1991-2003
SOURCE: "Figure 1. Past-Month Use of Any Illicit Drug by 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders Combined," in National Drug Control Strategy: Update, The White House, March 2004, http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/policy/ndcs04/2004ndcs.pdf (accessed March 31, 2005) during the 1975 to 2003 period. (See Figure 4.5.) The difference between females and males was smallest in 1981 (2.8%) and largest in 1978, when 58.6% of males but only 48.7% of females used some illegal drug in the year before, according to data in MTF.

Patterns of Drug Use

Of eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders tracked by the MTF program who had used drugs, more had used marijuana than any other illicit drug in 2003. (See Figure 4.6.) The survey tracks info for those in these grades using various substances from 1991 to 2003. (See Table 4.4.) In 2003, 7.5% of eighth graders had smoked marijuana in the thirty days before the survey; 17.0% of tenth graders had done so, and 21.2% of seniors. The next category of drugs used came at some distance. Among eighth graders, inhalants were sniffed by 4.1%. Among both tenth and twelfth graders, amphetamines were consumed by 4.3 and 5.0%, respectively. About 0.9% of eighth graders, 1.3% of tenth graders, and 2.1% of seniors reported using cocaine. Heroin use was lowest, at 0.3-0.4% of all three groups. Use of marijuana among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders is demonstrated over the years in Figure 4.7, inhalants in Figure 4.8, cocaine in Figure 4.9, heroin in Figure 4.10, and Ecstasy in Figure 4.11.

The data displayed in Table 4.4 through 2002 are graphed in Figure 4.12 for each age group using the same scale so that both progression over time and the differences between the three age groups can be FIGURE 4.5
Illicit drug use by high school seniors, by sex, 1975-2003
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Figure 5-7. Trends in Annual Prevalence of an Illicit Drug Use Index for Twelfth Graders by Gender," in Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2003—Vol. 1: Secondary School Students, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, August 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/vol1_2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005) assessed at a glance. As noted earlier, 1992 was a low point in general drug use followed by a new upsurge. The graphic begins on the left by showing the last part of the dip down and then the rise, flattening, and downturn of drug use late in the 1991-2002 period. That pattern is observable in all three age groups, with the exception of eighth graders who began to increase drug consumption one year before the older classes.

Comparing the three groups to each other, several things stand out. First is the dramatic rise in marijuana consumption with age, involving about a tenth of the youngest group at its peak year of use, a fifth of the tenth graders, and nearly a quarter of the seniors. Second, in all three of the age groups, use of the other drugs involved no more than 6% of FIGURE 4.6
Prevalence and recency of drug use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, by type of drug, 2003 the students in each class in 2002. In the eighth grade inhalants were used by almost 5% of the students on average between 1991 and 2002. Among tenth graders, stimulants are the next most-used drugs, at over 5% since 1995. Among seniors, stimulants showed growth from 1991 to 2002. Also, among tenth graders and seniors, cocaine gained in usage over time, increasing between 2001 and 2002, the only drug category to do so in that year of declining usage of other drugs.

Disapproval

As part of its survey work, MTF also measures its respondents' views of others who take drugs, of respondents' perceptions of the risks involved in using drugs, and their opinion on the ease or difficulty of obtaining drugs.

FIGURE 4.6
Prevalence and recency of drug use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, by type of drug, 2003 [CONTINUED]
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Figure 4-1. Prevalence and Recency of Use of Various Types of Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 2003," in Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975–2003—Vol. 1: Secondary School Students, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, August 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/vol1_2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005)

Disapproval ratings—the percentage of those who disapprove of others who use drugs—are the inverse of use. (See Table 4.5.) In 2003, for example, 78.7% of seniors disapproved of those who smoked marijuana regularly. In that year, 21.2% of twelfth graders reported using marijuana or hashish within the last thirty days. (See Table 4.4.) These two percentages, added together, result in 99.9%. Those who do not use the drugs generally disapprove of those who do.

Perceptions of risk (to be discussed below) also appear to influence disapproval ratings; in 2003, among seniors, the lowest disapproval rating was associated with trying marijuana once or twice (53.4% disapproved) and the highest with taking heroin regularly (97.1%). Between 1990 and 2003, disapproval of marijuana use has dropped more than 10% for all categories of use; disapproval of heroin use has remained almost unchanged between 1990 and 2003.

High school students' disapproval ratings for two activities, marijuana smoking and using crack, are shown in Figure 4.13 and Figure 4.14, respectively. Eighth graders' disapproval ratings for marijuana smoking are decisively higher than those of tenth and twelfth graders. Interestingly, eighth graders' disapproval of using crack once or twice is not higher than that of students in later grades—probably reflecting eighth graders' ignorance of risks. But disapproval ratings for crack are uniformly higher than for marijuana.

Risk Perception

In 1991, 83.8% of eighth graders, 82.1% of tenth graders, and 78.6% of seniors said that "great risk" was associated with smoking marijuana regularly, according to MTF. Only 5.2 points separated the risk ratings of twelfth graders from those of eighth graders. Twelve years later, the "great risk" ratings of eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders were 74.2, 63.9, and 54.9%

TABLE 4.4
Prevalence of drug use within previous month among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, by type of drug, 1991-2003

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	'02–'03 2003 change
Any illicit drug
8th grade	5.7	6.8	8.4	10.9	12.4	14.6	12.9	12.1	12.2	11.9	11.7	10.4	9.7	− 0.7
10th grade	11.6	11.0	14.0	18.5	20.2	23.2	23.0	21.5	22.1	22.5	22.7	20.8	19.5	− 1.3
12th grade	16.4	14.4	18.3	21.9	23.8	24.6	26.2	25.6	25.9	24.9	25.7	25.4	24.1	− 1.2
Any illicit drug other than marijuana
8th grade	3.8	4.7	5.3	5.6	6.5	6.9	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.6‡	5.5	4.7	4.7	0.0
10th grade	5.5	5.7	6.5	7.1	8.9	8.9	8.8	8.6	8.6	8.5‡	8.7	8.1	6.9	− 1.2s
12th grade	7.1	6.3	7.9	8.8	10.0	9.5	10.7	10.7	10.4	10.4‡	11.0	11.8	10.4	− 1.0
Any illicit drug including inhalants
8th grade	8.8	10.0	12.0	14.3	16.1	17.5	16.0	14.9	15.1	14.4	14.0	12.6	12.1	− 0.6
10th grade	13.1	12.6	15.5	20.0	21.6	24.5	24.1	22.5	23.1	23.6	23.6	21.7	20.5	− 1.2
12th grade	17.8	15.5	19.3	23.0	24.8	25.5	26.9	26.6	26.4	26.4	26.5	25.9	24.6	− 1.3
Marijuana/hashish
8th grade	3.2	3.7	5.1	7.8	9.1	11.3	10.2	9.7	9.7	9.1	9.2	8.3	7.5	− 0.8
10th grade	8.7	8.1	10.9	15.8	17.2	20.4	20.5	18.7	19.4	19.7	19.8	17.8	17.0	− 0.8
12th grade	13.8	11.9	15.5	19.0	21.2	21.9	23.7	22.8	23.1	21.6	22.4	21.5	21.2	− 0.3
Inhalants
8th grade	4.4	4.7	5.4	5.6	6.1	5.8	5.6	4.8	5.0	4.5	4.0	3.8	4.1	+ 0.3
10th grade	2.7	2.7	3.3	3.6	3.5	3.3	3.0	2.9	2.6	2.6	2.4	2.4	2.2	− 0.1
12th grade	2.4	2.3	2.5	2.7	3.2	2.5	2.5	2.3	2.0	2.2	1.7	1.5	1.5	+ 0.1
Nitrites
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	0.4	0.3	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.7	1.0	0.4	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.7	+ 0.1
Hallucinogens
8th grade	0.8	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.7	1.9	1.8	1.4	1.3	1.2‡	1.6	1.2	1.2	− 0.1
10th grade	1.6	1.8	1.9	2.4	3.3	2.8	3.3	3.2	2.9	2.3‡	2.1	1.6	1.5	− 0.2
12th grade	2.2	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.4	3.5	3.9	3.8	3.5	2.6‡	3.3	2.3	1.8	− 0.5
LSD
8th grade	0.6	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.0	0.7	0.6	− 0.1
10th grade	1.5	1.6	1.6	2.0	3.0	2.4	2.8	2.7	2.3	1.6	1.5	0.7	0.6	− 0.1
12th grade	1.9	2.0	2.4	2.6	4.0	2.5	3.1	3.2	2.7	1.6	2.3	0.7	0.6	− 0.1
Hallucinogens other than LSD
8th grade	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6‡	1.1	1.0	1.0	0.0
10th grade	0.4	0.5	0.7	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.2	1.4	1.2	1.2‡	1.4	1.4	1.2	− 0.2
12th grade	0.7	0.5	0.8	1.2	1.2	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.7‡	1.9	2.0	1.5	− 0.5ss

TABLE 4.4
Prevalence of drug use within previous month among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, by type of drug, 1991-2003 [CONTINUED]

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	'12-'03 change
PCP
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	0.5	0.6	1.0	0.7	0.6	1.3	0.7	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.5	0.4	0.6	+0.2
MDMA (Ecstasy)
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.8	1.4	1.8	1.4	0.7	−0.7sss
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	1.8	1.3	1.3	1.8	2.6	2.6	1.8	1.1	−0.7ss
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	2.0	1.6	1.5	2.5	3.6	2.8	2.4	1.3	−1.1sss
Cocaine
8th grade	0.5	0.7	0.7	1.0	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.1	0.9	−0.2
10th grade	0.7	0.7	0.9	1.2	1.7	1.7	2.0	2.1	1.8	1.8	1.3	1.6	1.3	−0.3
12th grade	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.3	2.4	2.6	2.1	2.1	2.3	2.1	−0.2
Crack
8th grade	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	−0.1
10th grade	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.1	0.8	0.9	0.7	1.0	0.7	−0.2s
12th grade	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.2	0.9	−0.3
Other cocaine
8th grade	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.7	−0.2
10th grade	0.6	0.6	0.7	1.0	1.4	1.3	1.6	1.8	1.6	1.6	1.2	1.3	1.1	−0.3
12th grade	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.6	2.0	2.0	2.5	1.7	1.8	1.9	1.8	−0.1
Heroin
8th grade	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.0
10th grade	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.3	−0.2
12th grade	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.4	0.5	0.4	−0.1
With a needle
8th grade	—	—	—	—	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.0
10th grade	—	—	—	—	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	−0.1
12th grade	—	—	—	—	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.0
Without a needle
8th grade	—	—	—	—	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3	−0.1
10th grade	—	—	—	—	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.4	0.2	−0.1
12th grade	—	—	—	—	0.6	0.4	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.0
Other narcotics
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.3	2.4	2.6	2.9	3.0‡	4.0	4.1	+0.2
OxyContin
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

TABLE 4.4
Prevalence of drug use within previous month among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, by type of drug, 1991-2003 [CONTINUED]

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	'02-'03 change
Vicodin
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Amphetamines
8th grade	2.6	3.3	3.6	3.6	4.2	4.6	3.8	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.2	2.8	2.7	−0.1
10th grade	3.3	3.6	4.3	4.5	5.3	5.5	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.4	5.6	5.2	4.3	−0.9ss
12th grade	3.2	2.8	3.7	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.8	4.6	4.5	5.0	5.6	5.5	5.0	−0.5
Ritalin
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Methamphetamine
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.1	0.8	1.3	1.1	1.2	+0.1
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.8	2.0	1.5	1.8	1.4	−0.4
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.7	1.9	1.5	1.7	1.7	+0.1
Ice
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.7	1.1	1.1	0.8	1.2	0.8	1.0	1.1	1.2	0.8	−0.4
Sedatives (barbiturates)
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	1.4	1.1	1.3	1.7	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.6	2.6	3.0	2.8	3.2	2.9	−0.3
Methaqualone
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	0.2	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.0
Tranquilizers
8th grade	0.8	0.8	0.9	1.1	1.2	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.4‡	1.2	1.2	1.4	+0.3
10th grade	1.2	1.5	1.1	1.5	1.7	1.7	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.5‡	2.9	2.9	2.4	−0.5s
12th grade	1.4	1.0	1.2	1.4	1.8	2.0	1.8	2.4	2.5	2.6‡	2.9	3.3	2.8	−0.5s
Rohypnol
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.1	−0.1
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.4	0.2	−0.1
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	—	—	—
GHB
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Ketamine
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

TABLE 4.4
Prevalence of drug use within previous month among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, by type of drug, 1991-2003 [CONTINUED]
SOURCE: Adapted from Lloyd D. Johnson, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Table 2. Trends in Annual and 30-Day Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders," in Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005)

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	'02-'03 change
Alcohol any use
8th grade	25.1	26.1‡	24.3	25.5	24.6	26.2	24.5	23.0	24.0	22.4	21.5	19.6	19.7	+0.1
10th grade	42.8	39.9‡	38.2	39.2	38.8	40.4	40.1	38.8	40.0	41.0	39.0	35.4	35.4	0.0
12th grade	54.0	51.3‡	48.6	50.1	51.3	50.8	52.7	52.0	51.0	50.0	49.8	48.6	47.5	−1.0
Flavored alcoholic beverages ("alcopops")
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Been drunk
8th grade	7.6	7.5	7.8	8.7	8.3	9.6	8.2	8.4	9.4	8.3	7.7	6.7	6.7	+0.1
10th grade	20.5	18.1	19.8	20.3	20.8	21.3	22.4	21.1	22.5	23.5	21.9	18.3	18.2	−0.1
12th grade	31.6	29.9	28.9	30.8	33.2	31.3	34.2	32.9	32.9	32.3	32.7	30.3	30.9	+0.6
Cigarettes any use
8th grade	14.3	15.5	16.7	18.6	19.1	21.0	19.4	19.1	17.5	14.6	12.2	10.7	10.2	−0.5
10th grade	20.8	21.5	24.7	25.4	27.9	30.4	29.8	27.6	25.7	23.9	21.3	17.7	16.7	−1.0
12th grade	28.3	27.8	29.9	31.2	33.5	34.0	36.5	35.1	34.6	31.4	29.5	26.7	24.4	−2.3s
Bidis
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kreteks
8th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
12th grade	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Smokeless tobacco
8th grade	6.9	7.0	6.6	7.7	7.1	7.1	5.5	4.8	4.5	4.2	4.0	3.3	4.1	+0.9
10th grade	10.0	9.6	10.4	10.5	9.7	8.6	8.9	7.5	6.5	6.1	6.9	6.1	5.3	−0.8
12th grade	—	11.4	10.7	11.1	12.2	9.8	9.7	8.8	8.4	7.6	7.8	6.5	6.7	+0.2
Steroids
8th grade	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.7	−0.1
10th grade	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.9	1.0	0.9	1.0	0.8	−0.3s
12th grade	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.9	0.7	0.7	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.8	1.3	1.4	1.3	−0.1
Note: Level of significance of difference between the two most recent classes: s=.05, ss=.01, sss=.001.

FIGURE 4.7
Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who used marijuana in the past year, 1975-2003
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Marijuana: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders," in Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005)

respectively; in 2003, 19.3 points separated eighth graders from seniors. This downward trend in risk perception is shown, along with risk perceptions relating to using cocaine (for twelfth graders only), in Figure 4.15 and Figure 4.16. Cocaine is viewed by youths as more risky. More than 60% of all twelfth-grade students saw great risk in taking it, even if only occasionally.

Availability of Drugs

"How difficult do you think it would be for you to get each of the following types of drugs, if you wanted some?"

The MTF project puts this question to students in its annual survey. The question is followed by a list of substances, including alcohol and cigarettes. According to the 2003 MTF, the two substances students have consistently judged "easy" or "fairly easy" to get have been alcohol and cigarettes, in that order. In 2003 the least FIGURE 4.8
Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who used inhalants in the past year, 1975-2003
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Inhalants: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders," in Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2003.pdf (accessed February 10, 2005) available drug reported by eighth graders was PCP, followed by the crystalline form of methamphetamine ("crystal meth" or "ice"); 13.7% reported that it was easy or fairly easy for them to get this PCP, and 14.1% to get ice. Heroin was least available to tenth graders (19.9% reporting it easy/fairly easy to get). Seniors put amyl and butyl nitrites into the "least available" category; these nitrites are inhalants with intoxicating effects. In 2003, 87.1% of twelfth graders thought that they could easily get marijuana. (See Figure 4.17.)

Trends in availability have been fairly flat during the 1992 to 2003 period as reported by MTF. There are some exceptions. Availability of marijuana shows a slight upward trend, most notably for tenth graders. Among eighth graders, between 45 and 55% of students have reported marijuana easy to get during this time; since 1995, more than 75% of tenth graders and more than 85% of seniors have reported easy access to marijuana.

FIGURE 4.9
Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who used cocaine (including crack) in the past year, 1975-2003
SOURCE: Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg, "Cocaine (Including Crack): Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders," in Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings, 2003, The University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, June 2004, http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/overview2003.pdf) accessed February 10, 2005)

Perceived availability of cocaine powder shows a slight downward trend by each age group tracked by MTF. Over the 1992-2003 period, one in four eighth graders reported it easy to get powdered cocaine, compared with about one in three tenth graders, and just under 45% of seniors. These, of course, are reported perceptions of availability rather than reports of purchases. Only 0.9% of eighth graders and 2.1% of seniors actually reported using cocaine in the most recent thirty days, and, according to MTF, only 3.6% of eighth graders and 7.7% of seniors had ever used cocaine.