“Overall, illicit drug use by American teens continues gradual decline in 2007.”   University of Michigan News Service: Ann Arbor, MI, press release. Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G. and Schulenberg, J.E., December 11, 2007

The University of Michigan and the National Institute for Drug Abuse released the 33rd annual survey of American adolescents from public and private secondary schools that measures drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related attitudes. 

This year’s findings revealed that:

•    Overall illicit drug use in the past year declined, part of a downward trend for all measured age-groups in the last decade.

•    The proportion of 8th graders saying they had used any illicit drug at least once in the prior 12 months (called annual prevalence) was 24 percent in 1996 but has fallen to 13 percent in 2007, a drop of nearly half.  The decline has been less among 10th graders, from 39 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2007, and least among 12th graders, a decline from the recent peak of 42 percent in 1997 to 36 percent in 2007.

•    Prescription drug abuse remains high with virtually no significant drop in nonmedical use of most individual prescription drugs.  Vicodin remains one of the most commonly abused drugs among 12th graders, with 1 in 10 reporting nonmedical use in the past year.

•    The annual prevalence rate for OxyContin use remains slightly higher than 2002, when it was first measured, but did not change over the past year. Annual prevalence rates are 1.8 percent for 8th graders, 3.9 percent for 10th graders and 5.3 percent for 12th graders.  This means that during the past year at least one in every twenty high school seniors has tried this drug.

•    In 2006 the study began capturing information about the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications for the purpose of getting high.  Most of these drugs contain the cough suppressant dextromethorphan as one of their active ingredients.  The rates annual prevalence rates were fairly high at 4 percent for 8th graders, 5 percent for 10th graders and 7 percent for 12th graders.  2007 showed no change in the lower grades and only a slight reduction to 6 percent for 12th graders. 

•    The use of LSD declined sharply from 2001 to 2005, but since then use has leveled off. 

•    Past-year use of MDMA by 10th and 12th graders has increased.

•    Investigators noted a concern over the softening of attitudes toward MDMA (Ecstasy) and LSD in younger grades.  For the third year in a row there was a decrease in perceived harmfulness of MDMA among 8th graders and of MDMA and LSD among 10th graders.  There has also been a decrease in the disapproval of LSD by 10th graders.  

•    Marijuana still remains the most widely used of all of the illicit drugs.   The annual prevalence rate among 8th graders declined from 11.7 percent in 2006 to 10.3 percent in 2007. The annual prevalence rate among 10th and 12th graders remained steady.  However, since 2001, annual prevalence rates for marijuana have fallen by 33 percent for 8th graders, 25 percent among 10th graders, and 14 percent among 12th graders.

•    Amphetamine use peaked in the mid-1990s among 8th and 10 graders and the prevalence rate has since fallen by more than half to 4 percent for 8th graders and by one third for 10th graders to 8 percent in 2007.  Use for 12th graders peaked later but has now fallen by about one third to 8 percent in 2007.

•    Methamphetamine use is now down by two thirds in all three grades from its annual prevalence rate in 1999.  Investigators are encouraged by the loss in popularity among teenagers.

•    The annual prevalence rate for Crystal methamphetamine, which is measured only among 12th graders, reached its lowest point (1.6 percent) this year since 1992, and is down by almost half from the peak year of 2002.

•    Cocaine use reached a peak among teens in the late 1990s, showed a slight decline, and has remained level in recent years.  Crack use has also leveled off. 

•    Other hallucinogens have shown less decline than LSD, but have also leveled off.

•    Heroin use reached its peak in the late 1990’s, and has declined since.  Less than 1 percent of students in any of the three grades report any use of heroin in the prior 12 months.

•    After increases in use in recent years, the use of inhalants remained steady.

•    The annual prevalence rate for the use of Anabolic Steroids peaked in 2002.  Since then the 8th and 10th grade annual prevalence rates has dropped by more than half, and the 12th grade rate by 40 percent. 

More detailed information on these and other drugs of abuse can be found in the full report at http://monitoringthefuture.org/.