The 2015 Monitoring the Future survey (MTF) shows decreasing use of a number of substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, prescription opioid pain relievers, and synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"). Other drug use remains stable, including marijuana, with continued high rates of daily use reported among 12th graders, and ongoing declines in perception of its harms.
The MTF survey measures drug use and attitudes among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders, and is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The survey has been conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor since 1975.
For the first time, daily marijuana use exceeds daily tobacco cigarette use among 12th graders. Daily marijuana use for this group remained relatively stable at 6 percent, compared to 5.5 percent reporting daily cigarette smoking (down from 6.7 percent in 2014).
"We are heartened to see that most illicit drug use is not increasing, non-medical use of prescription opioids is decreasing, and there is improvement in alcohol and cigarette use rates," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA. "However, continued areas of concern are the high rate of daily marijuana smoking seen among high school students, because of marijuana's potential deleterious effects on the developing brains of teenagers, and the high rates of overall tobacco products and nicotine containing e-cigarettes usage."
"This year's Monitoring the Future data continue the promising trends from last year with declining rates of adolescent substance use, and support the value of evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery," said National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli. "Efforts to prevent drug use from ever starting are particularly important as we work to reduce the rising number of drug overdoses across the country. I encourage parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors to have a conversation with the young people in their lives about making the healthy decisions that will keep them on a path toward a successful future."
"We are very encouraged by the continued decline in underage drinking illustrated in these data," said George F. Koob, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. "However, the percent of underage individuals drinking still remains unacceptably high. For example, approximately 40 percent of 12th graders have reported being drunk in the past year and binge drinking remains a significant problem."
Other highlights from the 2015 survey:
Drugs
Tobacco
Alcohol
Overall, 44,892 students from 382 public and private schools participated in this year's MTF survey. Since 1975, the survey has measured drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related attitudes in 12th graders nationwide. Eighth and 10th graders were added to the survey in 1991. Survey participants generally report their drug use behaviors across three time periods: lifetime, past year, and past month. Questions are also asked about daily cigarette and marijuana use. NIDA has provided funding for the survey since its inception by a team of investigators at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, led by Drs. Lloyd Johnston and Richard Miech. MTF is funded under grant number DA001411. Additional information on the MTF Survey, as well as comments from Dr. Volkow, can be found at http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/MTF.html . The University of Michigan press release can be found at http://monitoringthefuture.org .
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MTF is one of three major surveys sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provide data on substance use among youth. The others are the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The MTF website is: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org . Follow Monitoring the Future 2015 news on Twitter at @NIDANews, or join the conversation by using: #MTF2015. Additional survey results can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/news or http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp . Information on all of the surveyed drugs can be found on NIDA's Web site: http://www.drugabuse.gov .
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is the primary source of statistical information on substance use in the U.S. population 12 years of age and older. More information is available at: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/population-data-nsduh .
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, part of HHS's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, is a school-based survey that collects data from students in grades nine-12. The survey includes questions on a wide variety of health-related risk behaviors, including substance abuse. More information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm . Additionally, the National Youth Tobacco Survey, a school-based survey of U.S. students in grades six-12 conducted by the CDC in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration, collects data on the use of multiple tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. More information is available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/surveys/NYTS/ .
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found at http://www.drugabuse.gov , which is now compatible with your smartphone, iPad or tablet. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or email requests to drugpubs@nida.nih.gov . Online ordering is available at http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov . NIDA's media guide can be found at http://drugabuse.gov/mediaguide/ , and its easy-to-read website can be found at http://www.easyread.drugabuse.gov
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