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Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2012 - Volume I: Secondary School Students

NCJ Number
242700
Author(s)
Lloyd D. Johnston, Ph.D.; Patrick M. O'Malley, Ph.D.; Jerald G. Bachman, Ph.D.; John E. Schulenberg, Ph.D.
Date Published
2013
Length
645 pages
Annotation
This report details the results of the Monitoring the Future survey for the period 1975 through 2012.
Abstract
The Monitoring the Future Survey is an annual collection of data detailing drug use among the Nation's adolescents and young adults. Key findings on trends in drug use among adolescents include the following: in 2012, the rank order by age group for annual prevalence of using any illicit drug was 12th graders (40 percent), college students (37 percent), 19- to 28-year-olds (34 percent), 10th graders (30 percent), and 8th graders (13 percent); during the 1990s, the increase in illicit drug use traveled up the age spectrum, with increases beginning in middle school and radiating up the age spectrum, a reverse of what was identified during the 1960s; the annual prevalence of marijuana use among 8th-12th graders increased during the 1990s, peaking in 1996, and steadily decreasing since then, again most likely the result of a cohort effect; and after a steady decline since 1999, daily marijuana use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders has increased significantly beginning in 2010, while daily use rates among college students and young adults have remained fairly steady. Additional findings from this report deal with usage trends for synthetic marijuana, LSD, ecstasy (MDMA), amphetamines, methamphetamines, prescription drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall, inhalants, cocaine and crack cocaine, PCP, heroin, and narcotics other than heroin. The report also includes an analysis of differences in illicit drug use between college students and non-college young adults; and differences in substance use between males and females. Additional information is presented on trends in alcohol use, trends in cigarette smoking, racial/ethnic comparisons, drug use in eighth grade, and drug use by age 50. Tables, figures, and appendixes