Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH): National Findings, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, September 2007

This survey is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older. The survey interviews approximately 67,500 persons each year. Highlights from this study are presented below.

Illicit Drug Use

  • In 2006, an estimated 20.4 million Americans aged 12 or older were current (past month) illicit drug users, meaning they had used an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview. This estimate represents 8.3 percent of the population aged 12 years old or older. Illicit drugs include marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used nonmedically.
  • The rate of current illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older in 2006 (8.3 percent) was similar to the rate in 2005 (8.1 percent).
  • Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug (14.8 million past month users). Among persons aged 12 or older, the rate of past month marijuana use was the same in 2006 (6.0 percent) as in 2005.
  • In 2006, there were 2.4 million current cocaine users aged 12 or older, which was the same as in 2005 but greater than in 2002 when the number was 2.0 million. However, the rate of current cocaine use remained stable between 2002 and 2006.
  • Hallucinogens were used in the past month by 1.0 million persons (0.4 percent) aged 12 or older in 2006, including 528,000 (0.2 percent) who had used Ecstasy. These estimates are similar to the corresponding estimates for 2005.
  • There were 7.0 million (2.8 percent) persons aged 12 or older who used prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs nonmedically in the past month. Of these, 5.2 million used pain relievers, an increase from 4.7 million in 2005.
  • In 2006, there were an estimated 731,000 current users of methamphetamine aged 12 or older (0.3 percent of the population). These estimates do not differ significantly from estimates for 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 and are all based on new survey items added to NSDUH in 2006 to improve the reporting of methamphetamine use. These improved estimates should not be compared with estimates of methamphetamine use shown in prior NSDUH reports.
  • Among youths aged 12 to 17, current illicit drug use rates remained stable from 2005 to 2006. However, youth rates declined significantly between 2002 and 2006 for illicit drugs in general (from 11.6 to 9.8 percent) and for several specific drugs, including marijuana, hallucinogens, LSD, Ecstasy, prescription-type drugs used nonmedically, pain relievers, tranquilizers, and the use of illicit drugs other than marijuana.
  • The rate of current marijuana use among youths aged 12 to 17 declined from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.7 percent in 2006. Among male youths, the rate declined from 9.1 to 6.8 percent, but among female youths the rates in 2002 (7.2 percent) and 2006 (6.4 percent) were not significantly different.
  • There were no significant changes in past month use of any drugs among young adults aged 18 to 25 between 2005 and 2006. The rate of past year use increased for Ecstasy (from 3.1 to 3.8 percent) and decreased for inhalants (2.1 to 1.8 percent).
  • From 2002 to 2006, the rate of current use of marijuana among young adults aged 18 to 25 declined from 17.3 to 16.3 percent. Past month nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs among young adults increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.4 percent in 2006. This was primarily due to an increase in the rate of pain reliever use, which was 4.1 percent in 2002 and 4.9 percent in 2006. However, nonmedical use of tranquilizers also increased over the 5-year period (from 1.6 to 2.0 percent).
  • Among persons aged 12 or older who used pain relievers nonmedically in the past 12 months, 55.7 percent reported that the source of the drug the most recent time they used was from a friend or relative for free. Another 19.1 percent reported they got the drug from just one doctor. Only 3.9 percent got the pain relievers from a drug dealer or other stranger, and only 0.1 percent reported buying the drug on the Internet. Among those who reported getting the pain reliever from a friend or relative for free, 80.7 percent reported in a follow-up question that the friend or relative had obtained the drugs from just one doctor.
  • Among unemployed adults aged 18 or older in 2006, 18.5 percent were current illicit drug users, which was higher than the 8.8 percent of those employed full time and 9.4 percent of those employed part time. However, most drug users were employed. Of the 17.9 million current illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2006, 13.4 million (74.9 percent) were employed either full or part time.
  • In 2006, there were 10.2 million persons aged 12 or older who reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the past year. This corresponds to 4.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older, similar to the rate in 2005 (4.3 percent), but lower than the rate in 2002 (4.7 percent). In 2006, the rate was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (13.0 percent).

Initiation of Substance Use (Incidence, or First-Time Use)

  • The illicit drug use categories with the largest number of recent initiates among persons aged 12 or older were nonmedical use of pain relievers (2.2 million) and marijuana use (2.1 million). These estimates are not significantly different from the numbers in 2005.
  • In 2006, there were 783,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used inhalants for the first time within the past 12 months; 77.2 percent were under age 18 when they first used. There was no significant change in the number of inhalant initiates from 2005 to 2006.
  • The number of recent new users of methamphetamine taken nonmedically among persons aged 12 or older was 259,000 in 2006. This estimate was not significantly different from the estimates from 2002 to 2005.
  • Ecstasy initiation, which had declined from 1.2 million in 2002 to about 600,000 per year during 2004 and 2005, increased to 860,000 in 2006.

Youth Prevention-Related Measures

  • Perceived risk is measured by NSDUH as the percentage reporting that there is great risk in the substance use behavior. Among youths aged 12 to 17, there were no changes in the perceived risk of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin between 2005 and 2006. However, between 2002 and 2006, there were increases in the perceived risk of smoking marijuana once a month (from 32.4 to 34.7 percent) and smoking marijuana once or twice a week (from 51.5 to 54.2 percent). On the other hand, the percentage of youths who perceived that trying heroin once or twice is a great risk declined from 58.5 percent in 2002 to 57.2 percent in 2006, and those who perceived that using cocaine once a month is a great risk declined from 50.5 to 49.0 percent. There was also a decrease in the perceived risk of using LSD once or twice a week, from 76.1 percent in 2005 to 74.7 percent in 2006.
  • About half (50.1 percent) of youths aged 12 to 17 reported in 2006 that it would be "fairly easy" or "very easy" for them to obtain marijuana if they wanted some. Around one quarter reported it would be easy to get cocaine (25.9 percent). About one in seven (14.4 percent) indicated that heroin would be "fairly" or "very" easily available, and 14.0 percent reported easy availability for LSD.
  • Among youths, the perceived availability decreased between 2002 and 2006 for marijuana (from 55.0 to 50.1 percent), heroin (from 15.8 to 14.4 percent), and LSD (from 19.4 to 14.0 percent). However, the percentage reporting that it would be easy to obtain cocaine showed no decline over this period (25.0 percent in 2002 and 25.9 percent in 2006).
  • A majority of youths (90.4 percent) in 2006 reported that their parents would strongly disapprove of their trying marijuana or hashish once or twice. Current marijuana use was much less prevalent among youths who perceived strong parental disapproval for trying marijuana or hashish once or twice than for those who did not (4.6 vs. 26.5 percent).
  • In 2006, 11.4 percent of youths reported that they had participated in substance use prevention programs outside of school within the past year. Approximately four fifths (79.4 percent) reported having seen or heard drug or alcohol prevention messages from sources outside of school, lower than in 2005 when the percentage was 81.1 percent. Most (59.8 percent) youths reported in 2006 that they had talked with a parent in the past year about the dangers of drug, tobacco, or alcohol use.

Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment

In 2006, an estimated 22.6 million persons (9.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older) were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year based on criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). Of these, 3.2 million were classified with dependence on or abuse of both alcohol and illicit drugs, 3.8 million were dependent on or abused illicit drugs but not alcohol, and 15.6 million were dependent on or abused alcohol but not illicit drugs.

Between 2002 and 2006, there was no change in the number of persons with substance dependence or abuse (22.0 million in 2002, 22.6 million in 2006).

The specific illicit drugs that had the highest levels of past year dependence or abuse in 2006 were marijuana (4.2 million), followed by cocaine (1.7 million) and pain relievers (1.6 million).

There were 4.0 million persons aged 12 or older (1.6 percent of the population) who received some kind of treatment for a problem related to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs in 2006. More than half (2.2 million) received treatment at a self-help group. There were 1.6 million persons who received treatment at a rehabilitation facility as an outpatient, 1.1 million at a mental health center as an outpatient, 934,000 at a rehabilitation facility as an inpatient, 816,000 at a hospital as an inpatient, 610,000 at a private doctor's office, 420,000 at a prison or jail, and 397,000 at an emergency room. None of these estimates changed significantly between 2005 and 2006.

More than half (2.5 million) of the 4.0 million persons who received treatment for a substance use problem in the past year received treatment for alcohol use during their most recent treatment. There were 1.2 million persons who received treatment for marijuana use during their most recent treatment. Estimates for other drugs were 928,000 persons for cocaine, 547,000 for pain relievers, 535,000 for stimulants, 466,000 for heroin, and 442,000 for hallucinogens. (Note that respondents could indicate that they received treatment for more than one substance during their most recent treatment.)

In 2006, the number of persons aged 12 or older needing treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem was 23.6 million (9.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older). Of these, 2.5 million (1.0 percent of persons aged 12 or older and 10.8 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility. Thus, there were 21.1 million persons (8.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older) who needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive treatment at a specialty substance abuse facility in the past year.

Of the 21.1 million people in 2006 who were classified as needing substance use treatment but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility in the past year, 940,000 persons (4.5 percent) reported that they felt they needed treatment for their illicit drug or alcohol use problem. Of these 940,000 persons who felt they needed treatment, 314,000 (33.5 percent) reported that they made an effort to get treatment, and 625,000 (66.5 percent) reported making no effort to get treatment.

The number of people who felt they needed treatment and made an effort to get it among those who needed but did not receive treatment was not statistically different in 2006 (314,000) from the number reported in 2005 (296,000).

The full report can be found at http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k6NSDUH/2k6results.cfm.