Overall Use of Illicit Substances Down Among Teens

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Fewer adolescents are using drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol than in the past, according to results from the NIH-funded Monitoring the Future annual survey.

Over 45,000 junior high and high school students were surveyed in 2016. Among the findings:

• Past-month marijuana use fell among eighth graders from 6.5% to 5.4% over the past year, but use was fairly steady among 12th graders.

• States with medical marijuana laws had higher rates of past-year marijuana and marijuana edible use among 12th graders than states without such laws.

• Cigarette smoking continues its long decline: 1.8% of 12th graders reported smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day, compared with 11% in 1991.

• E-cigarette use was more common than cigarette smoking, but the proportion of seniors who vaped dropped from 16% in 2015 to 12%.

• A record low 37% of 12th graders said they had been drunk sometime in the past year.

• Seniors' past-year use of prescription opioids has fallen 45% in the past 5 years.