National Institute on Drug Abuse 

Monitoring the Future 

National Results on Adolescent Drug Use 

Overview 

of Key 

Findings 

1999 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Public Health Service 

National lnstrtutes of Health 
THE MONITORING THE FUTURE

NATIONAL RESULTS ON ADOLESCENT DRUG USE

Overview of Key Findings, 1999

by

Lloyd D. Johnston, Ph.D.

Patrick M. O'Malley, Ph.D.

Jerald G. Bachman, Ph.D.

The University of Michigan

Institute for Social Research

National Institute on Drug Abuse

6001 Executive Boulevard

Bethesda, Maryland 20892

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

National Institutes of Health

2000
This publication was written by the principal

investigators and staff of The Monitoring the

Future project, at the Institute for Social

Research, the University of Michigan, under

Research Grant No. 3 R01 DA 01411 from the

National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Public Domain Notice

All material appearing in this volume is in the

public domain and may be reproduced or copied

without permission from the National Institute on

Drug Abuse or the authors. Citation of the

source is appreciated.

National Institute on Drug Abuse

NIH Publication No. 00-4690

Printed 2000

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, DC 20402
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Study Design and Methods 2

Overview of Key Findings 3

Specific Results by Drug

Any Illicit Drug Use 6

Marijuana 8

Inhalants 10

LSD 12

Cocaine 14

Crack Cocaine 16

Amphetamines 18

Methamphetamine and Ice 20

Heroin 22

Tranquilizers 24

Barbiturates 26

Club Drugs—Rohypnol and Ecstasy 28

Alcohol 30

Cigarettes 32

Steroids 34

Subgroup Differences 36

Tables Covering All Drugs

1. Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use 38

2. Trends in Annual and 30-Day Prevalence of Use 41

3. Trends in Current Daily Prevalence of Use 44

 Footnotes for Tables 1-3 45

4. Trends in Perceived Harmfulness 46

5. Trends in Disapproval 47

6. Trends in Perceived Availability 48
1

Introduction

Monitoring the Future is a long-term study of

American adolescents, college students, and

young adults. It is conducted by the University

of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research and

is supported under a series of investigatorinitiated, competing research grants from the

National Institute on Drug Abuse.

This volume presents an overview of the key

findings from the 1999 survey of 8th, 10th, and

12th grade students, with a particular emphasis

on recent trends in the use of the various licit

and illicit drugs covered by the study. It also

shows trends in the levels of perceived risk and

personal disapproval associated with each drug,

which this study has shown to be particularly

important in explaining trends in use.

The first section of findings presents trends in

the overall proportions of students at each

grade level reporting illicit drug use of any

kind.

A separate section is then presented for each

class of drugs. These sections contains graphs

showing trends in past-year use and (when

available) trends in perceived risk, disapproval,

and perceived availability. The statistics underlying the trend lines contained in these

graphs are given in the tables at the end of this

report, covering the period 1991-1999.1 These

 

1

 Statistics for the earlier period, 1975-1990, may be found on the project’s Web site or in its annual volumes, both of which are referenced in

this section.

tables also contain the data on lifetime prevalence, 30-day prevalence, and (for selected

drugs) daily prevalence. 2 Furthermore, the tables indicate, for each prevalence period, which

1998-1999 one-year changes are statistically significant.

A more extensive analysis of the study’s findings on secondary school students may be

found in a volume to be published later this

year.3 The volumes in this series also contain a

more complete description of the study’s methodology as well as an appendix on how to test

the significance of differences between groups

or for the same group over time.

The study’s findings on American college students and young adults are not covered in this

early highlights report because the 1999 data

are not available at the time of this writing.

They are covered in a second series of volumes

that will be updated later this year.4 Volumes

in these two annual series are available from

the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and

Drug Information at (800) 729-6686 or by

e-mail at info@health.org.

Further information on the study, including its

latest press releases and a listing of all publications, may be found on the Web at

www.MonitoringTheFuture.org.

 

2

 Prevalence refers to the proportion or percentage of the sample reporting use of the given substance on one or more occasions in the

given period—e.g., lifetime, past 12 months, or the past 30 days. The

prevalence of daily use usually refers to use on 20 or more occasions in

the past 30 days.

3

 The most recent in this series is: Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M.,

and Bachman, J. G. (1999). National survey results on drug use from

the Monitoring the Future study, 1975-1998: Volume I, Secondary

school students. (NIH Publication No. 99-4660). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

4

 Ibid., Volume II, College students and young adults. (NIH Publication

No. 99-4661).
2

Study Design and Methods

At the core of Monitoring the Future is a series

of large, annual surveys of nationally representative samples of students in public and private secondary schools throughout the coterminous United States. Every year since 1975 a

national sample of 12th graders has been surveyed; beginning in 1991, the study was expanded to include comparable national samples

of 8th graders and 10th graders each year.

Sample Sizes

The 1999 sample sizes were 17,300, 13,900,

and 14,100 in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, respectively. In all, about 45,000 students in 433

schools participated. Because multiple questionnaire forms are administered at each grade

level, and because not all questions are contained in all forms, the numbers of cases upon

which a particular statistic are based can be less

than the total sample. The tables at the end of

this volume contain the sample sizes associated

with each statistic.

Field Procedures

University of Michigan staff members administer the questionnaires to students, usually in

their classrooms during a regular class period.

Participation is voluntary. Questionnaires are

self-completed and formatted for optical scanning. In 8th and 10th grades the questionnaires

are completely anonymous, and they are confidential in 12th grade (to permit the longitudinal

follow-up of a sub-sample of participants for

some years after high school in a panel study).

Measures

A standard set of three questions is used to determine usage levels for the various drugs (except for cigarettes). To take LSD as an example, we ask, “On how many occasions (if any)

have you used LSD (“acid”)...(a)...in your

lifetime?, (b)...during the past 12 months?,

(c)...during the last 30 days?” Each of the

three questions is answered on the same answer

scale: 0 occasions, 1-2, 3-5, 6-9, 10-19, 20-39,

and 40 or more occasions. For the psychotherapeutic drugs (amphetamines, barbiturates,

tranquilizers, and opiates other than heroin),

respondents are instructed to include only use

“...on your own—that is, without a doctor

telling you to take them.”

For cigarettes, respondents are asked two questions about use: “Have you ever smoked cigarettes?” (for which the answer categories are

“never,” “once or twice,” and so on); and “How

frequently have you smoked cigarettes during

the past 30 days?” (for which the answer categories are “not at all,” “less than one cigarette

per day,” “one to five cigarettes per day,”

“about one-half pack per day,” etc.)

Alcohol use is measured using the three questions illustrated above for LSD. A similar set

of three questions asks about the frequency of

being drunk and another question asks, for the

prior two-week period, “How many times have

you had five or more drinks in a row?”

Perceived risk is measured by a question asking, “How much do you think people risk

harming themselves (physically or in other

ways), if they...” “...try marijuana once or

twice,” for example. The answer categories are

“no risk,” “slight risk,” “moderate risk,” “great

risk,” and “can’t say, drug unfamiliar.”

Disapproval is measured by the question, “Do

YOU disapprove of people doing each of the

following?” followed by “trying marijuana once

or twice,” for example. Answer categories are:

“don’t approve,” “disapprove,” “strongly disapprove,” and (in 8th and 10th grades only)

“can’t say, drug unfamiliar.”

Availability is measured by the question, “How

difficult do you think it would be for you to get

each of the following types of drugs, if you

wanted some?” followed by “marijuana (pot,

grass),” for example. Answer categories are:

“probably impossible,” “very difficult,” “fairly

difficult,” “fairly easy,” and “very easy.”
3

Overview of Key Findings

The surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students in the United States conducted in 1999

generated mixed results.

Drugs Holding Steady

After one or two years of decline, overall illicit

drug use among teens remained steady in 1999

in all three grades, as did the use of a number

of important specific drugs—marijuana, amphetamines, hallucinogens taken as a class,

tranquilizers, heroin, and alcohol. (Chapters

specific to each of these drugs may be found

later in this volume.)

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug.

The annual prevalence rates in grades 8, 10,

and 12, respectively, are 17%, 32%, and 38%.

Current daily prevalence rates (defined as the

proportion using it on 20 or more occasions in

the prior thirty days) are 1.4%, 3.8%, and 6.0%.

Annual prevalence peaked in 1996 for 8th

graders and a year later in the upper grades.

Drugs Increasing in Use

While the use of a number of drugs held steady

in 1999, the use of certain other drugs increased, while the use of others decreased.

The most important increases were observed in

MDMA (“ecstasy”) among older students, and

in steroid use among younger adolescent males.

Ecstasy—a so-called “club drug” because of its

popularity at night clubs and “raves”— showed

a sharp rise in use in 1999 among older teens,

following several years of gradual decline.

(Over the prior two-year interval, ecstasy use

had declined at all three grade levels.) Exactly

why it made a comeback in 1999 is not entirely

clear, but the results show that the increase occurred primarily in the Northeast and in large

cities. About one in twenty 10th and 12th grade

students indicated using ecstasy sometime

during the prior 12 months (4.4% and 5.6%,

respectively).

Steroid use among younger male teens also

increased in 1999. Roughly one in every 40

boys in 8th (2.5%) and 10th (2.8%) grades indicated some steroid use during the prior

year—a statistically significant increase over

1998, when the rates were 1.6% and 1.9% respectively. (Rates of use are much lower

among girls, and their use changed little in

1999.) Concurrent with this year’s sharp increase in use was a sharp drop in the amount of

risk 12th graders (the only ones asked this

question) saw as associated with steroid use in

1999. It seems likely that students at all grade

levels would have shown such a decline, were

the data available. Steroid use had been rising

gradually since 1992 among 12th graders.

Drugs Decreasing in Use

While MDMA and steroid use were rising in

1999, the use of a number of other drugs

showed some decline—and in some cases this

amounted to the continuation of a longer-term

decline.

Inhalant use, for example, continued a gradual

decline—one that has been ongoing for the past

four years. Inhalants, the only class of drugs

which tends to be more popular among younger

teens than older ones, include a wide range of

common household products that youngsters

inhale or “huff” in order to get high, such as

glues, solvents, butane, gasoline, and aerosols.

The annual prevalence rates for 8th, 10th, and

12th graders in 1999 were 10%, 7%, and 6%,

respectively.

Rohypnol—a so-called “date rape drug” about

which there was considerable concern in recent

years—showed a small decline in use in all

three grades this year. The annual prevalence

rates are quite low—ranging from 0.5% in 8th

grade to 1.0% in 10th and 12th grades.
4

Crack use declined in 1999 among 8th graders

for the first time in some years and leveled

among 10th graders. Since crack use had been

rising slowly but steadily at all grade levels

through most of the ’90s, these developments

were welcome—particularly considering how

dangerous this drug is. Annual prevalence for

crack stands at 1.8%, 2.4%, and 2.7% at grades

8, 10, and 12.

Crystal methamphetamine (or “ice”), another

dangerous stimulant, exhibited a significant

decline in 1999 among 12th graders (the only

grade level at which use is asked). The annual

prevalence of ice use in 12th grade fell from

3.0% in 1998 to 1.9% in 1999.

In sum, while the use of a number of illicit

drugs remained stable, and a couple (ecstasy

and steroids) made a resurgence, use of several

important classes of drugs declined in 1999.

Reasons for the Diverging Trends

The wide divergence in the trajectories of the

different drugs in this single year helps to illustrate the point that, to a considerable degree,

the determinants of use are often specific to the

drugs. These determinants include both the

perceived benefits and the perceived risks that

young people come to associate with each drug.

Unfortunately, word of the supposed benefits of

using a drug usually spreads much faster than

information about the adverse consequences.

The former takes only rumor and a few testimonials, the spread of which has been hastened

greatly by the electronic media and the Internet.

The latter—the perceived risks—usually take

much longer for the evidence (e.g., of death,

disease, overdose reactions, addictive potential)

to cumulate and then to be disseminated. Thus,

when a new drug comes onto the scene, it has a

considerable “grace period” during which its

benefits are alleged and its consequences are

not yet known.

Implications for Prevention

To some considerable degree, prevention must

occur drug by drug, because knowledge of the

adverse consequences of one drug will not necessarily generalize to the use of other drugs.

Many of young people’s beliefs and attitudes

are specific to the drug. A review of the charts

in this volume on perceived risk and disapproval for the various drugs—attitudes and beliefs which we have shown to be important in

explaining many drug trends over the years—

will amply illustrate this contention. These attitudes and beliefs are at quite different levels for

the various drugs and, more importantly, often

trend differently over time.

New Drugs Help to Keep the Epidemic

Going

Another point well illustrated by this year’s results is the continuous flow of new drugs introduced onto the scene or being “rediscovered”

by young people. Many drugs have made a

comeback years after they first fell from popularity, often because young people’s knowledge

of their adverse consequences faded as generational replacement took place. We call this

process “generational forgetting.” Examples of

this include LSD and methamphetamine, two

drugs used widely in the beginning of the broad

epidemic of illicit drug use, which originated in

the late ’60s. Heroin, cocaine, PCP, and crack

are some others that made a comeback after

their initial popularity faded.

As for newer drugs coming onto the scene for

the first time, examples include the nitrite inhalants and PCP in the ’70s, crack and crystal

methamphetamine in the ’80s, and rohypnol

and then GHB in the ’90s. (Questions on GHB,

another club drug, will be added to the study in

the next survey.) The perpetual introduction of

new drugs (or of new forms of taking older

ones, as illustrated by crack and crystal methamphetamine) helps to keep the country’s

“drug problem” alive. Because of the lag times

described previously, during which evidence of
5

adverse consequences must cumulate and be

disseminated, the forces of containment are always playing “catch up” with the forces of encouragement and exploitation.

Where Are We Now?

As the country closes its books on the twentieth

century, clearly the problems of substance

abuse remain widespread among American

young people. Today over half (55%) have

tried an illicit drug by the time they finish high

school. Indeed, if inhalant use is included in the

definition of an illicit drug, more than a third

(37%), have done so as early as 8th grade—

when most students are only 13 or 14 years old.

Between a quarter and a third (29%) have tried

some illicit drug other than marijuana by the

end of 12th grade, and 21% of 12th graders

used some illicit drug other than marijuana in

just the 12 months prior to the survey.

Cigarettes and Alcohol

The statistics for use of the licit drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, are also alarming. Nearly

two-thirds (65%) have tried cigarettes by 12th

grade, and over a third (35%) of 12th graders

are current smokers. Even as early as 8th

grade, nearly half (44%) have tried cigarettes,

and 18% already are current smokers. Fortunately, we have seen some improvement in

smoking statistics in just the last couple of

years, after a dramatic increase in these rates

earlier in the ’90s.

Cigarette use reached its recent peak in 1996

at grades 8 and 10, capping a rapid climb of

some 50% since 1991, when data first were

gathered on these grades. Since 1996, smoking

in these grades has fallen off some, and it continued to do so in 1999. In 12th grade, the peak

occurred a year later, in 1997, from which there

has been only a modest decline. (See the section on cigarettes for more detail.)

Alcohol use also is extremely widespread

among today’s teenagers. Four out of every

five students (80%) have consumed alcohol

(more than just a few sips) by the end of high

school; and about half (52%) have done so by

8th grade. In fact, 62% of the 12th graders and

25% of the 8th graders in 1999 report having

been drunk at least once. To a considerable

degree, alcohol trends have tended to parallel

the trends in illicit drug use. These trends include some modest increase in binge drinking

(defined as having five or more drinks in a row

at least once in the past two weeks) in the early

part of the ’90s, with a proportionally smaller

increase than was seen for most of the illicit

drugs. Fortunately, binge drinking rates leveled off two or three years ago, just about when

the illicit drugs began a turnaround.
6

Any Illicit Drug Use

In the remainder of this report, separate sections are provided for each of the many classes

of illicit drugs, but we will first consider the

proportions of American adolescents who use

any drug, regardless of type. Monitoring the

Future routinely reports three different indexes

of illicit drug use—an index of “any illicit drug

use,” an index of the use of “any illicit drug

other than marijuana,” and an index of the use

of “any illicit drug including inhalants.”5 In

this section we discuss the first two, but the

statistics for the third may be found in Table 1.

In order to make comparisons over time, we

have kept the definitions of these indexes constant, even though some new substances appear

as time passes. The index levels would be little

affected by the appearance of these new substances, however, primarily because almost all

users of them are also using the more prevalent

drugs included in the indexes. The major exception has been inhalants, the use of which is

quite prevalent in the lower grades. For this

reason, a special index was created to include

inhalants, after the lower grades were added to

the study in 1991.

Trends in Use

In the last third of the twentieth century, young

Americans achieved extraordinary levels of illicit drug use, either by historical comparisons

in this country or by international comparisons

with other countries. The trends in lifetime use

of any illicit drug are given in the first panel

on the facing page.6 By 1975, when the study

began, the majority of young people (55%) had

used an illicit drug by the time they left high

school. This figure rose to two-thirds (66%) by

1981, before a long and gradual decline to 41%

 

5

 Footnote 1 to Tables 1 through 3 provides the exact definition of “any

illicit drug.”

6

 This is the only set of figures in this volume presenting lifetime use

statistics. For other drugs, lifetime statistics may be found in the tables

at the end of the volume.

by 1992—the low point. Today, the proportion

is back to 55%, after a period of considerable rise in the ’90s. The comparable

trends for annual, as opposed to lifetime,

prevalence appear in the second (upper right)

panel. They show some falloff after 1996

among 8th graders, and after 1997 in the two

upper grades, but no further change in 1999.

Because marijuana is so much more prevalent

than any other illicit drug, trends in its use tend

to drive the index of “any illicit drug use.” For

this reason we have an index excluding marijuana use, showing the proportion of these

populations willing to use other so-called

“harder” illicit drugs. The proportions using

any illicit drug other than marijuana are

lower, of course, but still impressive (third

panel, lower left). In 1975 over one-third (36%)

of 12th graders had tried some illicit drug other

than marijuana. This figure rose to 43% by

1981, followed by a long period of decline to a

low of 25% in 1992. Some increase followed

in the ’90s, as the use of a number of drugs rose

steadily, and it reached 30% by 1997. (In 1999

it was 29%.) The fourth panel presents the annual prevalence data for the same index, which

shows a pattern of change over the past few

years similar to the index of any illicit drug use.

Overall, these data reveal that, while use of individual drugs (other than marijuana) may

fluctuate widely, the proportion using any of

them is much less labile. In other words, the

proportion of students prone to using such

drugs, and willing to cross the normative barriers to such use, changes more gradually. The

individual drugs, on the other hand, react to

many determinants specific to them: how

widely their psychoactive potential is recognized, how favorable the reports of their supposed benefits are, how risky it is seen to use

them, how acceptable they are in the peer

group, how accessible they are, and so on.
 Trends in Illicit Drug Use

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used any illicit drug in lifetime % who used any illicit drug in past year

 % who used any illicit drug other than

 marijuana in past year

 % who used any illicit drug other than

 marijuana in lifetime

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
8

Marijuana

Marijuana has been the most widely used illicit

drug for the 25 years of this study, and almost

certainly for some years before that, as well.

While marijuana can be taken orally in food

and can be smoked in a concentrated form as

hashish—the use of which is much more common in Europe—nearly all consumption in this

country involves smoking it in rolled cigarettes

(“joints”), in pipes, or, more recently, in hollowed-out cigars (“blunts”).

Trends in Use

Annual marijuana use peaked at 51% among

12th graders in 1979, following a rise that

likely began in the ’60s. Then use declined

fairly steadily for thirteen years, bottoming at

22% in 1992—a decline of more than half. The

’90s, however, saw a resurgence in use. After a

considerable increase in the ’90s (one that actually began among 8th graders a year earlier

than among 10th and 12th graders), annual

prevalence rates peaked in 1996 at 8th grade

and in 1997 at 10th and 12th grades. Some decline followed, though there was no further decline observed in 1999, specifically.

Perceived Risk

The amount of risk associated with using

marijuana fell during the earlier period of increased use and again during the more recent

resurgence of use in the ’90s. Indeed, at 10th

and 12th grades, perceived risk began to decline a year before use began to rise in the upturn of the ’90s, making perceived risk a leading indicator of change in use. (The same may

have happened at 8th grade, as well, but we do

not have data starting early enough to check

that possibility.) The decline in perceived risk

halted after 1997 in 8th and 10th grade, and use

began to decline a year or two later. Again,

perceived risk was a leading indicator of

change in use.

Disapproval

Personal disapproval of marijuana use slipped

considerably among 8th graders between 1991

and 1996, and among 10th and 12th graders

between 1992 and 1997. For example, the proportions of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, respectively, who said they disapproved of trying

marijuana once or twice fell by 17, 21, and 19

percentage points over those intervals of decline. There has since been a little increase in

disapproval among 8th and 10th graders but not

yet among 12th graders.

Availability

Since the study began in 1975, between 83%

and 90% of every senior class has said that they

could get marijuana fairly easily or very easily

if they wanted some; therefore, it seems clear

that this has remained a highly accessible drug.

Since 1991, when data were also available for

8th and 10th graders, we have seen that marijuana tends to be less accessible to younger

adolescents. Still, in 1999 nearly half of all 8th

graders (48%) and more than three-quarters of

all 10th graders (78%) reported it as being accessible. This compares to 89% for seniors.

As marijuana use rose sharply in the early and

mid-’90s, reported availability increased as

well, perhaps reflecting the fact that more

young people had friends who were users.

Availability peaked for 8th and 10th graders in

1996 and has shown a modest falloff since.

Availability peaked a bit later for 12th graders.
Marijuana: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using regularly

 % disapproving of using regularly % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
10

Inhalants

Inhalants are any gases or fumes that can be

inhaled for the purpose of getting high. These

include many household products, the sale and

possession of which is perfectly legal, including such things as airplane glue, nail polish

remover, gasoline, solvents, butane, and propellants used in certain commercial products,

such as whipped cream dispensers. Unlike

nearly all other classes of drugs, their use is

most common among younger adolescents and

tends to decline as youngsters grow older. The

early use of inhalants may reflect the fact that

many inhalants are cheap, readily available,

and legal. The decline in use with age no doubt

reflects their coming to be seen as “kids’

drugs.” Also, a number of other drugs become

accessible to older adolescents who are more

able to afford to buy them.

Trends in Use

According to the long-term data from 12th

graders, inhalant use (excluding the use of nitrite inhalants) rose gradually for some years,

from 1976-1987. This rise in use was somewhat unusual in that most other forms of illicit

drug use were in decline during the 1980s. Use

rose among 8th and 10th graders from the time

data were first gathered on them, 1991, through

1995, and also rose among 12th graders from

1992-1995. All grades have shown a steady

decline in use since then. The Partnership for a

Drug Free America launched an anti-inhalant

advertising initiative in 1995, which may help

to explain the turnaround in use after that point.

Perceived Risk

Only 8th and 10th graders have been asked

questions about the degree of risk they associate with inhalant use. Relatively low proportions of them think that there is a “great risk” in

using an inhalant once or twice, although there

was an upward shift in this belief between 1995

and 1996, specifically.

Disapproval

Quite high proportions say they would disapprove of even trying an inhalant. There has

been a slight upward drift in this attitude since

1995, including a significant increase in both

8th and 10th grades in 1999.

Availability

Respondents have not been asked about the

availability of inhalants, because we have assumed that these substances are universally

available to young people in these age ranges.
Inhalants: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, and Disapproval

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 30

 24

 18

 12

 6

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

80

 60

40

20

(no data)

 % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

Year
12

LSD

LSD is the most widely used drug within the

larger class of drugs known as hallucinogens.

Statistics on overall hallucinogen use, and on

the use of hallucinogens other than LSD, may

be found in the tables at the end of this report.

Trends in Use

The annual prevalence of LSD use has remained below 10% for the last 25 years. Use

had declined some in the first 10 years of the

study, likely continuing a decline that had begun before 1975. Use had been fairly level in

the latter half of the ’80s, but, as was true for a

number of other drugs, use rose in all three

grades between 1991 and 1996. Use in all

three grades is now below the peak level

reached in 1996, but is not yet down by much.

Only 8th graders showed a continuation of the

decline in use in 1999, and that one-year

change did not reach statistical significance.

Perceived Risk

We think it likely that perceived risk for LSD

use had grown in the early ’70s, before this

study began, as concerns about possible neurological and genetic effects spread (most were

never scientifically confirmed), and also as

concern about “bad trips” grew. However,

there was some decline in perceived risk in the

late ’70s. The degree of risk associated with

LSD experimentation then remained fairly level

among 12th graders through most of the ’80s

but began a substantial decline after 1991,

dropping 12 percentage points by 1997, before

leveling. From the time that perceived risk was

first measured among 8th and 10th graders, in

1993, through 1998, perceived risk fell in both

of these grades, as well.

Disapproval

Disapproval of LSD use was quite high among

12th graders through most of the ’80s but began to decline after 1991 along with perceived

risk. All three grades exhibited a decline in

disapproval through 1996, with disapproval of

experimentation dropping a total of 11 percentage points between 1991 and 1996 among 12th

graders. Among 12th graders, there has been a

slight increase in disapproval since 1997. In

the other two grades, disapproval leveled in

1999.

Availability

Reported availability of LSD by 12th graders

has varied quite a bit over the years. It fell

considerably from 1975-1983, remained level

for a few years, and then began a substantial

rise after 1986, reaching a peak in 1995. LSD

availability also rose among 8th and 10th graders in the early ’90s, reaching a peak in 1995 or

1996. There has been some falloff in availability in all three grades since those peak years.
LSD: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in past year % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 30

 24

 18

 12

 6

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
14

Cocaine

For some years cocaine was used almost exclusively in powder form, though freebasing

emerged for awhile. Then in the early ’80s

came the advent of crack cocaine. Our original

questions did not distinguish among different

forms of cocaine or different modes of administration, but simply asked about using cocaine.

The findings contained in this section report on

the results of those more inclusive questions

asked of 12th graders over the years.

In 1987 we also began to ask separate questions

about the use of crack cocaine and “cocaine

other than crack,” which was comprised almost

entirely of powder cocaine. Data on these two

components of overall cocaine use are contained in the tables in this report, and crack is

discussed in the next section.

Trends in Use

There have been some important changes in the

levels of overall cocaine use (which includes

crack) over the life of the study. Use among

12th graders originally burgeoned in the late

’70s, then remained fairly stable through the

first half of the ’80s, before starting a precipitous decline after 1986. Annual prevalence

among 12th graders dropped by about threequarters between 1986, when it was 12.7%, and

1992, when it was 3.1%. Between 1992 and

1999, use reversed course again and doubled to

6.2%, a level still well below the peak levels in

the mid-’80s. Use also rose in 8th and 10th

grades after 1992, before leveling in 8th grade

after 1996 and in 10th after 1997.

Perceived Risk

Global questions (not distinguishing between

crack and other forms) about the dangers of

cocaine use and the degree of disapproval of

cocaine use, have been asked only of 12th

graders. The results tell a fascinating story,

however. They show that perceived risk for

experimental use fell in the late ’70s (when use

was rising), stayed level in the first half of the

’80s (when use was level), and then jumped

very sharply in a single year (between 1986 and

1987), just when the substantial decline in use

began. The year 1986 was marked by a crescendo of a national media frenzy over crack

cocaine, but perhaps more importantly, by the

widely-publicized cocaine-related death of Len

Bias, a National Basketball Association firstround draft pick. Bias’ death was originally reported as resulting from his first experience

with cocaine. Though that later turned out not

to be the case, the message had already

“taken.” We believe this event helped to persuade many young people that use of cocaine at

any level, no matter how healthy the individual,

was dangerous. Risk continued to rise through

1990 as the fall in use continued. But, between

1992 and 1999, a period of increasing use among

12th graders, perceived risk fell gradually.

Disapproval

Disapproval of cocaine use by 12th graders

followed a cross-time pattern similar to that for

perceived risk, although the jump in 1987 was

not quite so pronounced (a 7 percentage point

jump vs. a 14 percentage point one-year jump

in perceived risk). However, disapproval

started from a higher base.

Availability

The proportion of 12th graders saying that it

would be “fairly easy” or “very easy” for them

to get cocaine if they wanted some was 33% in

1977, rose to 48% by 1980, held fairly level

through 1985, increased to 59% by 1989 (in a

period of rapidly declining use), and then fell

back to about 48% by 1993. Since then, perceived availability has remained steady. Note

that the patterns of change do not map all that

well onto the patterns of change in actual use,

suggesting that changes in overall availability

may not have been a major determinant of

use—particularly of the sharp decline in use in

the late ’80s. The advent of crack cocaine in

the early ’80s, however, provided a lower cost

form of cocaine, thus reducing the prior social

class differences in use.
Cocaine (including Crack): Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and

Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 30

 24

 18

 12

 6

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
16

Crack Cocaine

Several indirect indicators in the study suggested that crack use grew rapidly in the period

1983-1986, starting before we had direct measures of crack use. In 1986 we asked a single

usage question in one of the five questionnaire

forms given to 12th graders: those who indicated any cocaine use in the prior 12 months

were asked if they had used crack. The results

from that question represent the first data point

in the first panel on the facing page. After that,

our usual set of three questions about use was

asked about crack and was inserted into several

questionnaire forms.

Trends in Use

After 1986 there was a precipitous drop in

crack use among 12th graders, one which continued through 1991. After 1991, all three

grades showed a slow and steady increase in

crack use through 1998. Indeed, crack was one

of the few drugs still increasing in use in 1998.

In 1999, crack use finally showed a drop in 8th

grade and a leveling in 10th. The rate of use

attained in 12th grade in 1999 (2.7%), while

being the highest level attained in the ’90s, is

still well below what was probably the peak

level in 1986 (4.1%).

Perceived Risk

By the time we added questions about the perceived risk of using crack in 1987, it was already seen as one of the most dangerous of all

the illicit drugs by 12th graders: 57% saw a

great risk in even trying it. This compared to

54% for heroin, for example. (See the previous

section on cocaine for a discussion of changes

in perceived risk in 1986.) However, perceived

risk for crack still rose steadily through 1990,

reaching 64% of 12th graders who said they

thought there was a great risk in taking crack

once or twice. (Use was dropping during this

interval.) After 1990 some falloff in perceived

risk began, well before crack use began to increase in 1994. Between 1991 and about 1998

there was a considerable falloff in this belief in

grades 8 and 10, as use rose quite steadily.

Disapproval

Disapproval of crack use was not included in

the study until 1990, by which time it was at a

very high level, with 92% of 12th graders saying that they disapproved of even trying it.

Disapproval of crack use eased steadily in all

three grades from 1991 through about 1997,

before stabilizing in 1999.

Availability

Crack availability remained relatively stable

across the interval for which data are available,

as the fourth panel on the facing page illustrates. In 1987 some 41% of 12th graders said

it would be fairly easy for them to get crack if

they wanted some, exactly the same proportion

as observed in 1999. Eighth and tenth graders

did report some modest increase in availability

in the early ’90s.

NOTE: The distinction between crack cocaine

and other forms of cocaine (mostly powder)

was not made until the middle of the life of the

study. The charts on the facing page begin

their trend lines when these distinctions were

introduced for the different types of measures.

Charts are not presented here for the “other

forms of cocaine” measures, simply because

the trend curves look extremely similar to those

for crack. (All the statistics are contained in

the tables presented later.) The absolute levels

of use, risk, etc., are somewhat different, but

the trends are very similar. Usage levels tend

to be higher for cocaine powder compared to

crack, the levels of perceived risk a bit lower,

while disapproval and availability are quite

close for the two different forms of cocaine.
Crack: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 10

 8

 6

 4

 2

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
18

Amphetamines

Amphetamines, a class of psychotherapeutic

stimulants, have had a relatively high prevalence of use in the youth population for many

years. The behavior reported here is supposed

to exclude any use under medical supervision.

Amphetamines are controlled substances—they

are not supposed to be bought or sold without a

doctor’s prescription—but some are diverted

from legitimate channels, and some are manufactured and/or imported illegally.

Trends in Use

The use of amphetamines rose in the last half of

the ’70s, reaching a peak in 1981—two years

after marijuana use peaked. We believe that

the usage rate reached in 1981 (annual prevalence of 26%) may have been an exaggeration

of true amphetamine use, because “look-alikes”

were in common use at that time. After 1981 a

long and steady decline in use by 12th graders

began, and did not end until 1992.

As with many other illicit drugs, amphetamines

made a comeback in the ’90s, with annual

prevalence starting to rise by 1992 among 8th

graders and by 1993 among the 10th and 12th

graders. Use peaked in the lower two grades

by 1996 and began to gradually decline thereafter. In 12th grade there is no evidence of a

decline yet, though the annual prevalence rate

for amphetamines has been unchanged for the

last three years.

Perceived Risk

Only 12th graders are asked questions about the

amount of risk they associate with amphetamine use or about their disapproval of that behavior. Overall, perceived risk has been less

strongly correlated with usage levels (at the aggregate level) for this drug than for a number of

others, although the expected inverse association pertained during much of the period 1975-

1999. There was decrease in risk during the

period 1975-1981 (when use was rising), some

increase in risk in 1986-1991 (when use was

falling), and some decline in perceived risk

from 1991-1995 (in advance of use rising

again). But in the interval 1981-1986, risk was

quite stable even though use fell considerably.

Of course, since those are the years of peak cocaine use, it is quite possible that some of the

decline in amphetamine use in the ’80s was not

due to a change in attitudes about that drug, but

rather due to competition from another stimulant—cocaine.

Disapproval

Relatively high proportions of 12th graders

have disapproved of even trying amphetamines

throughout the life of the study (between 70%

and 87%). Disapproval did not change in the

late ’70s, despite the increase in use, though

there seemed to be a one-year drop in 1981,

specifically. From 1981-1992 disapproval rose

gradually from 71% to 87% as use steadily declined. Disapproval then fell back about 6 or 7

percentage points in the next couple of years

before stabilizing.

Availability

When the study started in 1975, amphetamines

had a high level of reported availability. The

level fell by about 10 percentage points by

1977, drifted up a bit through 1980, jumped

sharply in 1981, and then began a long, gradual

decline through 1991. There was a modest increase in availability at all three grade levels in

the early ’90s, followed by some decline later

in the ’90s.
Amphetamines: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 48

 36

 24

 12

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year

*
20

Methamphetamine and Ice

One subclass of amphetamines is called methamphetamine. This subclass (at one time called

“speed”) has been around for a long time and

gave rise to the phrase “speed kills” in the ’70s.

Probably because of the reputation it got at that

time as a particularly dangerous drug, it was

not very popular for a long time. As a result,

we did not even include a full set of questions

about its use in the study’s questionnaires. One

form of methamphetamine that made a comeback in the ’80s was crystal methamphetamine

or “ice.” It comes in crystalized form, as the

name implies, and the chunks can be heated and

the fumes inhaled, much like crack cocaine.

Trends in Use

For most of the life of the study the only question about methamphetamine use has been

contained in a single 12th grade questionnaire

form. Respondents who indicated using any

type of amphetamines in the prior 12 months

were asked in a sequel question to check on a

pre-specified list which types they had used

during that period. “Methamphetamine” was

one type on the list, and data exist on its use

since 1976. In 1976, annual prevalence was

1.9%; it then rose to 3.7% by 1981 (the peak

year), before declining for a long period of time

to 0.4% by 1992. It then rose again in the ’90s,

reaching 1.3% by 1998, before declining to

0.9% in 1999. In other words, it followed a

cross-time trajectory very similar to that for

amphetamines as a whole.

That questionnaire form also had “crystal

meth” added in 1989 as another answer category that could be checked. It showed a level

rate of use from 1989-1993 (at around 1.1%)

followed by a period of increase to 2.5% by

1998 and then a decline to 1.8% in 1999.

In 1990, in the 12th grade questionnaires only,

we introduced our usual set of three questions,

and 1.3% of 12th graders indicated any crystal

methamphetamine use in the prior year, a figure which climbed to 3.0% in 1998, followed

by a decline to 1.9% in 1999. (Note that these

prevalence rates are quite close to those derived

from the other question procedures, just described.)

Responding to the growing concern about

methamphetamine use in general—not just

crystal methamphetamine use—we added a full

set of three questions about the use of any

methamphetamine to the 1999 questionnaires

for all three grade levels. These questions

yielded a somewhat higher annual prevalence

for 12th graders in 1999 (4.7%), compared to

the sum of the crystal meth and methamphetamine answers in the other question format,

which totals 2.7%. It would appear, then, that

the long-term method we had been using for

tracking methamphetamine use probably

yielded an understatement of the absolute

prevalence level, perhaps because some proportion of methamphetamine users did not correctly categorize themselves initially as amphetamine users. We think it unlikely that the

shape of the trend curve was distorted, however.

The new 1999 questions show fairly high levels

of methamphetamine use: lifetime prevalence

rates of 4.5%, 7.3%, and 8.2% for 8th, 10th,

and 12th grades, respectively; annual prevalence rates of 3.2%, 4.6%, and 4.7%: and 30-

day prevalence rates of 1.1%, 1.8%, and 1.7%.

Other Measures

No questions have yet been added to the study

on perceived risk, disapproval, or availability

with regard to overall methamphetamine use.

Data on two of these variables for crystal methamphetamine, specifically, may be found on

the facing page.
Ice: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 10

 8

 6

 4

 2

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 Year Year

 Year

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

100

 80

 60

 40

 20

% disapproving of using once or twice

(no data)

Year
22

Heroin

Heroin, an opiate derivative, had been used for

many decades primarily by injection into a

vein. That was due in considerable part to the

fact that the purity of the drug sold on the street

to users was quite low, making the ingestion of

heroin by other means less practical. However,

in the 1990s the purity of available heroin

reached very high levels, making other modes

of administration (like snorting and smoking)

practical alternatives to injection. Therefore, in

1995, we introduced questions that asked separately about using heroin with and without a

needle so that we might see to what extent use

without injection helped to explain the upsurge

in use then occurring. The usage statistics presented in the first facing panel are based on

heroin use by any method.

Trends in Use

The annual prevalence of heroin use among

12th graders fell by about half between 1975

and 1979, from 1.0% to 0.5%. The rate then

held amazingly steady for about 14 years.

After about 1993, though, heroin use began to

rise, and it rose substantially until 1996 (among

8th graders) or 1997 (among 10th and 12th

graders). The prevalence rates roughly doubled

at each grade level. Use then stabilized again

and has not changed much since those peak

years.

The questions about use with and without a

needle were not introduced until the 1995 survey, so they did not encompass much of the

period of increasing use. Responses to these

questions showed that by then about equal proportions of all users at 8th grade were using

each of the two methods of ingestion, and

some—nearly a third of the users—were using

both. At 10th grade a somewhat higher proportion of all users was taking heroin by injection, and at 12th grade a higher proportion still.

Much of the remaining increase in overall heroin use beyond 1995 occurred in the proportions using it without injecting, which we

strongly suspect was true in the immediately

preceding period of increase as well. (The differences across grade levels in the proportions

of users who inject would be consistent with

this interpretation.)

Perceived Risk

Students have long seen heroin to be one of the

most dangerous drugs, which no doubt helps to

account both for their consistently high level of

personal disapproval of use (see below) and

their quite low absolute prevalence of use rates.

There have been some changes in perceived

risk levels over the years, nevertheless. Between 1975 and 1986, perceived risk gradually

declined, even though use dropped and then

stabilized in that interval. There was then an

upward shift in 1987 (the same year that perceived risk for cocaine jumped dramatically) to

a new level, where it held for four years. In

1992 risk dropped to a lower plateau again, a

year or two before use started to rise. Perceived risk then rose again in the latter half of

the ’90s as use leveled off. Based on the short

interval for which we have such data from 8th

and 10th graders, it may be seen that perceived

risk rose among them between 1995 and 1997,

foretelling an end to the increase in use.

Disapproval

There has been very little fluctuation in the

very high disapproval levels for heroin use over

the years, though what change there was in the

last half of the ’90s was consistent with the

concurrent changes in perceived risk and use.

Availability

The proportion of 12th grade students saying

they could get heroin fairly easily, if they

wanted some, remained around 20% through

the mid-’80s; it then increased considerably

from 1986-1992, before stabilizing at about

35%. At the lower grade levels, reported availability has been less, but also has held fairly

steady since 1992.
Heroin: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice*

 % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get % disapproving of using once or twice*

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 5

 4

 3

 2

 1

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year

*

*Prior to 1995, the question asked about heroin use in general. Since 1995, the question has asked about heroin use without a needle.
24

Tranquilizers

Tranquilizers constitute another class of psychotherapeutic drugs, like amphetamines,

which are legally sold only by prescription.

They are central nervous depressants and for

the most part are comprised of benzodiazepines

(minor tranquilizers, such as Valium). Respondents are told to exclude any medically

prescribed use.

Trends in Use

During the late ’70s and all of the ’80s, tranquilizers fell steadily out of popularity, with

use declining by three-quarters among 12th

graders between 1977 and 1992. Their use

made a bit of a comeback during the ’90s,

along with many other drugs, and more than

doubling among 12th graders by 1999, to 5.8%

annual prevalence. (This rate compares to

10.8% back in 1977, the peak year.) Use

peaked among 8th graders in 1996 and has

dropped a bit since then.

Perceived Risk

Data have not been collected on this variable

due to questionnaire space limitations.

Disapproval

Data have not been collected on this variable,

either.

Availability

As the number of 12th graders reporting illegal

tranquilizer use dropped dramatically during

the ’70s and ’80s, so did the proportion saying

they would be fairly easy to get. Whether use

or perceived availability is the cause of the

other is unclear. Perceived availability fell

from 72% in 1975 to 33% in 1999. Most of

that decline occurred before the ’90s, though

there was some further drop in the ’90s at all

three grade levels, despite the fact that use rose

some.
Tranquilizers: Trends in Annual Use and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months

 % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 30

 24

 18

 12

 6

 Year

 Year

% seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

(no data)

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

(no data)

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

Year

Year
26

Barbiturates

Like tranquilizers, barbiturate sedatives are

psychotherapeutic drugs. They are central

nervous system depressants, the sale of which

is prescription controlled. They are used to assist sleep and relieve anxiety. Respondents are

instructed to exclude from their answers any

use that occurred under medical supervision.

Usage data are reported only for 12th graders,

because we believe that students in the lower

grades tend to over-report use, perhaps including their use of nonprescription sleep aids or

other over-the-counter drugs.

Trends in Use

Like tranquilizers, the use of barbiturates by

12th graders fell in popularity rather steadily

from the mid-’70s through the early ’90s.

From 1975-1992, use fell by three-fourths,

from 10.7% annual prevalence to 2.8%. Barbiturates showed some resurgence through

1999, though, reaching 5.8%.

Another class of sedatives, methaqualone, has

been included in the study from the beginning.

Statistics on trends in the use of that drug may

be found in the accompanying tables. In 1975

methaqualone use was about half the level of

barbiturate use. Its use also declined steadily

from 1981, when annual prevalence was 7.6%,

through 1993, when annual prevalence reached

the negligible level of 0.2%. Use increased

some for a couple of years, reaching 1.1% in

1996, where it remained in 1999.

Perceived Risk

Trying barbiturates was never seen by most

students as being very dangerous, and it is clear

from the second facing panel that perceived

risk cannot do much to explain the trends in use

which occurred through 1986, at least. Perceived risk actually declined a bit between

1975 and 1986—an interval in which use also

was declining. But then perceived risk shifted

up some through 1991, consistent with the fact

that use was still falling. It then dropped back

some through 1999, as use was increasing.

Disapproval

Like many of the illicit drugs other than marijuana, barbiturates have received the disapproval of the great majority of all high school

graduating classes over the past 25 years,

though there have been some changes in level.

Those changes have been consistent with the

changes in actual use observed. Disapproval of

using a barbiturate once or twice rose from

78% in 1975 to a high of 91% in 1990, where it

held for two years. Then disapproval eroded a

bit to 87% by 1999, during a period of increasing use.

Availability

As the fourth facing panel shows, the availability of amphetamines has generally been declining during most of the life of the study, except for one shift up which occurred in 1981.
Barbiturates: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 30

 24

 18

 12

 6

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
28

“Club Drugs”—Rohypnol and Ecstasy

There are a number of so-called “club drugs,”

so labeled because they are popular at night

clubs and all-night dance parties called “raves.”

At present, this category includes LSD,

MDMA (“ecstasy”), methamphetamine,

Rohypnol, ketamine, and GHB. We will deal

here only with ecstasy and Rohypnol, since

LSD and methamphetamine already have been

discussed and we do not yet have any information on ketamine or GHB (though they have

been added to the year 2000 questionnaire).

Rohypnol and GHB also have been labeled

“date rape drugs.” Both can induce amnesia of

events that occurred while under the influence

of the drug; therefore, both have been used in

connection with rapes or seductions by dates or

acquaintances. In such cases, where the drug

may be slipped surreptitiously into the drink of

a victim, it is questionable whether the victim is

even aware of having taken that particular drug.

Trends in Rohypnol Use

Questions about the use of Rohypnol were

added to the survey in 1996. They revealed

low levels of use that the respondent was able

to report—around 1% in all three grade levels.

At 8th grade, use began falling immediately

after 1996 and by 1999 had fallen by half. In

the upper two grades, use first rose for a year or

two before beginning to fall back to its original

level by 1999. All three grades showed some

decline in 1999, though only the decline in 8th

grade reached statistical significance.

Limitations on questionnaire space precluded

asking about perceived risk, disapproval, or

availability.

Trends in MDMA (Ecstasy) Use

Ecstasy is actually a form of methamphetamine

but is used more for its hallucinogenic properties. Questions about the use of MDMA, or

ecstasy, were added to the surveys of secondary

school students in 1996. (We have had questions on this drug since 1991 in the questionnaires answered by college students and young

adults, but had been cautious about introducing

a drug with such an alluring name to secondary

school students before they may have otherwise

heard about it. The results from the older respondents showed ecstasy use beginning to rise

above trace levels in 1995, and continuing to

rise at least through 1998.) Annual prevalence

in 10th and 12th grades in 1996 was 4.6%—

actually considerably higher than among

college students and young adults at that point.

Ecstasy use fell in both grades over the next

two years, but in 1999, use rose sharply in both

grades, bringing annual prevalence up to 4.4%

among 10th graders and 5.6% among 12th

graders.

We do not have a ready explanation for why

this turnaround occurred. The charts on the

facing page show no change in perceived risk

or disapproval since 1997, but they do show

roughly a doubling from 1991 to 1997 in the

proportion of 12th graders who thought it

would be “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

ecstasy if they wanted some. The increase in

ecstasy use in 1999 occurred primarily in the

Northeast and in large cities.
MDMA (Ecstasy): Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 10

 8

 6

 4

 2

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
30

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages—which include beer,

wine, wine coolers, and hard liquor—have been

among the most widely used substances by

American young people for a very long time.

In 1999 the proportions of 8th, 10th, and 12th

graders who admitted drinking an alcoholic

beverage in the 30-day period prior to the survey were 24%, 40%, and 51%, respectively.

There are quite a number of usage measures of

relevance for alcohol, all of which are contained in the tables at the end of this report.

Here we will focus on the pattern of alcohol

consumption, which probably is of the greatest

public health concern—episodic heavy drinking, what we call “binge drinking” for short. It

is measured in this study by the reported number of occasions, during the prior two-week

interval, that the respondent had five or more

drinks in a row. We present the prevalence of

such binge drinking behavior in the first panel.

Trends in Use

Judging by the data from 12th graders, binge

drinking reached its peak at about the time that

overall illicit drug use did, in 1979. It held

steady for a couple of years and then declined

substantially from 41% in 1983 to a low of

28% in 1992 (also the low point of any illicit

drug use). This was an important improvement—a drop of almost one-third in binge

drinking. Although illicit drug use rose considerably in the ’90s in proportional terms, binge

drinking rose only by a small fraction—about

four percentage points among the 12th graders—between 1992 and 1998. At 8th grade

there was some upward drift between 1991

(12.9%) and 1996 (15.6%), as was true at 10th

grade between 1992 (21.1%) and 1997

(25.1%). Use has been level, or even down

slightly, over the past year or so in all three

grades.

One point to note in these findings is that there

is no evidence of any “displacement effect” in

the aggregate between alcohol and marijuana—

a hypothesis frequently heard. The two drugs

have moved much more in parallel over the

years than in opposite directions.

Perceived Risk

While for most of the study the majority of

12th graders have not viewed binge drinking on

weekends as carrying a great risk (see panel

two), there was in fact a fair-sized increase in

this measure between 1982, when it was 36%,

and 1992, when it reached 49%. There then

followed a modest decline to 43% by 1997, before it stabilized. These changes track fairly

well the changes in actual binge drinking. We

believe that the public service advertising campaigns in the ’80s against drunk driving, in

general, as well as those that urged use of designated drivers when drinking, may have contributed to the increase in perceived risk of

binge drinking. As we have published elsewhere, drunk driving by 12th graders declined

during that period by an even larger proportion

than did binge drinking.

Disapproval

Disapproval of weekend binge drinking moved

pretty much in parallel to perceived risk, suggesting that increasingly such drinking (and

very likely the drunk-driving behavior often

associated with it) became unacceptable in the

peer group. Note that the rates of disapproval

and perceived risk for binge drinking are higher

in the lower grades than in 12th grade. Both

variables showed some erosion at all grade levels in the early ’90s.

Availability

Perceived availability of alcohol, which has

been asked only of 8th and 10th graders, has

been very high and fairly steady in the ’90s,

although there may have been a slight decline

since about 1997.
Alcohol: Trends in Binge Drinking, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

% who had 5+ drinks in a row % seeing “great risk” in having 5+ drinks in a row

 % disapproving of having 5+ drinks in a row % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy”

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year

in previous two weeks once or twice each weekend

once or twice each weekend to get alcohol
32

Cigarettes

Cigarette smoking has been called the greatest

preventable cause of disease and mortality in

the United States. At current rates, this statement surely remains true for these newer cohorts of young people. (Note: Data are presented in the tables on all measures of cigarette

smoking and on the use of smokeless tobacco.)

Trends in Use

We know that differences in smoking rates

between different birth cohorts (or, in this case,

high school class cohorts) tend to stay with

those cohorts throughout the life cycle. This

means that it is critical to prevent smoking very

early. It also means that the trends observed at

one grade level may not correspond to the

trends observed in another in a given historical

period. Among 12th graders, 30-day prevalence of smoking reached a peak in 1976, at

39%. (The peak likely occurred considerably

earlier for lower grade levels, as these same

class cohorts passed through them in previous

years.) There was about a one-quarter drop in

30-day prevalence between 1976 and 1981,

when the rate reached 29%, a level at which it

remained until 1992 (28%).

In the ’90s, smoking began to rise sharply,

starting in 1992 (and quite possibly earlier)

among 8th and 10th graders, and in 1993

among 12th graders. Over four to five years to

follow, smoking rates increased by about onehalf in the lower two grades and by almost onethird in grade 12—very substantial increases.

Smoking peaked in 1996 for 8th and 10th graders and in 1997 for 12th graders, before showing some decline in all three grades, which

continued in the lower grades in 1999.

Perceived Risk

Among 12th graders, the proportion seeing

great risk in pack-a-day smoking rose before

and during some of the time that use first declined. It leveled in 1980 (before use leveled),

declined a bit in 1982, but then started to rise

again gradually for five years (though use remained stable). Perceived risk fell some in the

early ’90s at all three grade levels as use increased; but after 1995 perceived risk began to

climb in all three grades (coincident with use

starting to decline in grades 8 and 10, but a year

before it started to decline in 12th grade). Note

the considerable disparity of the levels of perceived risk among grade levels. For some

years, only around 50% of 8th graders saw

great risk in pack-a-day smoking.

Disapproval

Disapproval rates for smoking have been fairly

high throughout the study and, unlike perceived

risk, are higher in the lower grade levels.

Among 12th graders there was a gradual increase in disapproval of smoking from 1976-

1986, a slight erosion over the following five

years, then a steeper erosion during the early to

mid-’90s. In the two lower grades a decline in

disapproval occurred between 1991 and 1996,

the period of sharply increasing use. This was

followed by a steady increase in disapproval

through 1999 in grades 8 and 10 (as use declined).

Availability

Availability of cigarettes is reported as very

high by 8th and 10th graders. (We do not ask

the question of 12th graders, for whom we assume accessibility is nearly universal.) Availability to the younger students has declined

some in the last three years.
Cigarettes: Trends in 30-Day Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in past 30 days

 % seeing “great risk” in smoking a pack

 % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 % disapproving of smoking a pack

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year

 or more per day

 or more per day
34

Steroids

Unlike all of the other drugs discussed in this

volume, anabolic steroids are not usually taken

for their psychoactive effects, but rather for

their physical effects on the body, in particular

for their effects on muscle and strength development. They are similar to the other drugs

studied here, though, in that they are controlled

substances for which there is an illicit market

and which can have adverse consequences for

the user. Questions about their use were added

to the study beginning in 1989. Respondents

are asked: “Steroids, or anabolic steroids, are

sometimes prescribed by doctors to promote

healing from certain types of injuries. Some

athletes, and others, have used them to try to

increase muscle development. On how many

occasions (if any) have you taken steroids on

your own—that is, without a doctor telling you

to take them...?”

Trends in Use

Steroids are used predominately by males;

therefore, data based on all respondents can

mask higher rates and larger fluctuations that

occur among males. For example, in 1999 the

annual prevalence rates were two to five times

as high among males as among females. Boys’

annual prevalence rates were 2.5%, 2.8%, and

3.1% in grades 8, 10, and 12, compared with

0.9%, 0.7%, and 0.6% for girls. Between 1991

and 1997 the overall annual prevalence rate

was quite stable in 8th grade, ranging between

0.9% and 1.2%; and in 10th grade it was similarly stable, ranging between 1.0% and 1.2%.

(See the first panel on the facing page.) In

1999, however, use jumped from 1.2% to 1.7%

in 8th and 10th grades. Almost all of that increase occurred among boys (increasing from

1.6% to 2.5% in 8th grade and from 1.9% to

2.8% in 10th). In other words, the rates among

boys increased by about 50% in a single year.

In 12th grade there was a different trend story.

With data going back to 1989, we can see that

steroid use first fell from 1.9% overall in 1989

to 1.1% in 1992—the low point. From 1992-

1999 there was a more gradual increase in use,

reaching 1.8% by 1999.

Perceived Risk

Perceived risk and disapproval were only asked

of 8th and 10th graders for a few years, before

the space was allocated to other questions. All

grades seemed to have a peak in perceived risk

around 1993. The longer-term data from 12th

graders, however, show a distinct drop in 1999.

This 6 percentage point drop was quite unusual

and highly significant, suggesting that some

historical event in that year changed beliefs

about the dangers of steroids. (It seems likely

that there was at least as large a drop in the

lower grades, as well, where the sharp upturn in

use occurred that year.)

Disapproval

Disapproval of steroid use has been quite high

for some years. (Along with the high levels of

perceived risk, disapproval rates no doubt help

to explain the low absolute prevalence rates.)

There has been only slight falloff in disapproval so far.

Availability

Perceived availability is quite high for steroids

and considerably higher at the upper grades

than in the lower ones. However, it should be

noted that some over-the-counter substances,

like androstenedione, are legally available to all

age groups.
Steroids: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

 % who used in last twelve months % seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice % saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 5

 4

 3

 2

 1

 100

 80

 60

 40

 20

 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

 60

 Year Year

 Year Year
36

Subgroup Differences

Space does not permit a full discussion or the

documentation of the many subgroup differences on the host of drugs covered in this report. However, the much longer versions of

Volume I in this same series—both the one

published last year and the one forthcoming in

2000—contain an extensive appendix with tables giving the subgroup prevalence levels and

trends for nearly all of the classes of drugs discussed here. Chapters 4 and 5 in those volumes

also present a more in-depth discussion and interpretation of those differences. Comparisons

are made by gender, college plans, region of

the country, community size, socioeconomic

level (as measured by the educational level of

the parents), and race/ethnicity.

Gender. Generally, we have found males to

have somewhat higher rates of illicit drug use

than females (particularly of frequent use),

higher rates of heavy drinking, and roughly

equivalent rates of cigarette smoking (though

the two genders have reversed order twice

during the life of the study). These gender differences appear to emerge as students grow

older, since many differences are smaller or

non-existent at the lower grade levels. Use of

the various substances tends to move pretty

much in parallel across time for both genders,

although the absolute differences tend to be

largest in the higher prevalence periods.

College Plans. Those students who are not

college bound (a decreasing proportion of the

total youth population) are considerably more

likely to be at risk for using illicit drugs, for

drinking heavily, and particularly for cigarette

smoking than are the college bound. Again,

these differences are largest in periods of highest prevalence. In the lower grades, the college

bound showed a greater increase in cigarette

smoking in the early to mid-’90s than did their

non-college-bound peers.

Region of the Country. The differences associated with region of the country are sufficiently varied and complex that we cannot do

justice to them here. In general, though, the

Northeast and the West have tended to have the

highest proportions of students using any illicit

drug, and the South the lowest proportion

(though these rankings do not apply to many of

the specific drugs). In particular, the cocaine

epidemic of the early ’80s was much more pronounced in the West and the Northeast than in

the other two regions, though the differences

decreased as the overall epidemic subsided.

While the South and the West once had lower

rates of drinking among students than the other

two regions had, those differences have narrowed in recent years. Cigarette smoking rates

have consistently been lowest in the West. The

upsurge of ecstasy use in 1999 occurred primarily in the Northeast.

Population Density. There have not been very

large or consistent differences in overall illicit

drug use associated with population density

over the life of the study, which helps to demonstrate just how ubiquitous the illicit drug

phenomenon has been in this country. In the

last few years, the use of a number of drugs has

declined more in the urban areas than in the

non-urban ones, leaving the non-urban areas

with higher rates of use. The recent upsurge in

ecstasy use does seem to be concentrated in

urban areas, at least so far. Crack and heroin

use, however, are not concentrated in urban areas, meaning that no parents should assume

their youngsters are immune to these threats

simply because they do not live in a city.

Socioeconomic Level. For many drugs the differences in use by socioeconomic class are very

small, and the trends have been highly parallel.

One very interesting difference occurred for

cocaine, which was positively associated with

socioeconomic status in the early ’80s. That

association had nearly disappeared by 1986,
37

however, with the advent of crack, which offered cocaine at a lower price. Cigarette

smoking showed a similar narrowing of class

differences, but this time it was a large negative

association with social class that diminished

considerably, between roughly 1985 and 1993.

Rates of binge drinking are roughly equivalent

across the classes and have been for some time

among 12th graders.

Race/Ethnicity. Among the most dramatic and

interesting subgroup differences are those

found among the three largest racial/ethnic

groups—Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics. Contrary to popular assumption, at all

three grade levels African American youngsters

have substantially lower rates of use of a number of licit and illicit drugs than do Whites.

These include any illicit drug use, most of the

specific illicit drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. In

fact, African Americans’ use of cigarettes is

dramatically lower than for Whites, and this is

a difference that emerged largely during the life

of the study (i.e., since 1975).

Hispanics have rates of use that tend to fall

between the other two groups in 12th grade—

usually closer to the rates for Whites than for

Blacks. (Hispanics do have the highest reported rates of use for some drugs in 12th

grade—crack and ecstasy—and their level of

heroin use is equivalent to that of Whites.) But

in 8th grade they tend to come out highest of

the three racial/ethnic groups on nearly all

classes of drugs, including alcohol (amphetamines being the major exception). One possible explanation for this change in ranking between 8th and 12th grade may lie in the fact

that Hispanic youngsters have considerably

higher school dropout rates. Thus, more of the

“drug-prone” segment of that ethnic group may

leave school before 12th grade than in the other

two racial/ethnic groups. Another explanation

could be that Hispanics are more precocious in

their initiation of these sorts of behaviors.
(Table continued on next page)

TABLE 1

Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

(Entries are percentages)

Lifetime

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99

Any Illicit Druga

 8th Grade 18.7 20.6 22.5 25.7 28.5 31.2 29.4 29.0 28.3 -0.7

 10th Grade 30.6 29.8 32.8 37.4 40.9 45.4 47.3 44.9 46.2 +1.3

 12th Grade 44.1 40.7 42.9 45.6 48.4 50.8 54.3 54.1 54.7 +0.6

Any Illicit Drug

 Other Than Marijuanaa

 8th Grade 14.3 15.6 16.8 17.5 18.8 19.2 17.7 16.9 16.3 -0.6

 10th Grade 19.1 19.2 20.9 21.7 24.3 25.5 25.0 23.6 24.0 +0.4

 12th Grade 26.9 25.1 26.7 27.6 28.1 28.5 30.0 29.4 29.4 0.0

Any Illicit Drug

 Including Inhalantsa,b

 8th Grade 28.5 29.6 32.3 35.1 38.1 39.4 38.1 37.8 37.2 -0.6

 10th Grade 36.1 36.2 38.7 42.7 45.9 49.8 50.9 49.3 49.9 +0.6

 12th Grade 47.6 44.4 46.6 49.1 51.5 53.5 56.3 56.1 56.3 +0.2

Marijuana/Hashish

 8th Grade 10.2 11.2 12.6 16.7 19.9 23.1 22.6 22.2 22.0 -0.2

 10th Grade 23.4 21.4 24.4 30.4 34.1 39.8 42.3 39.6 40.9 +1.3

 12th Grade 36.7 32.6 35.3 38.2 41.7 44.9 49.6 49.1 49.7 +0.6

Inhalantsb,c

 8th Grade 17.6 17.4 19.4 19.9 21.6 21.2 21.0 20.5 19.7 -0.8

 10th Grade 15.7 16.6 17.5 18.0 19.0 19.3 18.3 18.3 17.0 -1.3

 12th Grade 17.6 16.6 17.4 17.7 17.4 16.6 16.1 15.2 15.4 +0.2

 Nitritesd

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.7 1.7 -1.0

Hallucinogensc

 8th Grade 3.2 3.8 3.9 4.3 5.2 5.9 5.4 4.9 4.8 -0.1

 10th Grade 6.1 6.4 6.8 8.1 9.3 10.5 10.5 9.8 9.7 -0.1

 12th Grade 9.6 9.2 10.9 11.4 12.7 14.0 15.1 14.1 13.7 -0.4

 LSD

 8th Grade 2.7 3.2 3.5 3.7 4.4 5.1 4.7 4.1 4.1 0.0

 10th Grade 5.6 5.8 6.2 7.2 8.4 9.4 9.5 8.5 8.5 0.0

 12th Grade 8.8 8.6 10.3 10.5 11.7 12.6 13.6 12.6 12.2 -0.4

 Hallucinogens 

 Other Than LSD

 8th Grade 1.4 1.7 1.7 2.2 2.5 3.0 2.6 2.5 2.4 -0.1

 10th Grade 2.2 2.5 2.8 3.8 3.9 4.7 4.8 5.0 4.7 -0.3

 12th Grade 3.7 3.3 3.9 4.9 5.4 6.8 7.5 7.1 6.7 -0.4
(Table continued on next page)

TABLE 1 (cont.)

Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Lifetime

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99

 PCPd

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.7 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.4 -0.5

 MDMA (Ecstasy)d

 8th Grade — — — — — 3.4 3.2 2.7 2.7 0.0

 10th Grade — — — — — 5.6 5.7 5.1 6.0 +0.9

 12th Grade — — — — — 6.1 6.9 5.8 8.0 +2.3s

Cocaine

 8th Grade 2.3 2.9 2.9 3.6 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.7 +0.1

 10th Grade 4.1 3.3 3.6 4.3 5.0 6.5 7.1 7.2 7.7 +0.5

 12th Grade 7.8 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0 7.1 8.7 9.3 9.8 +0.5

 Crack

 8th Grade 1.3 1.6 1.7 2.4 2.7 2.9 2.7 3.2 3.1 -0.1

 10th Grade 1.7 1.5 1.8 2.1 2.8 3.3 3.6 3.9 4.0 +0.1

 12th Grade 3.1 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.9 4.4 4.6 +0.2

 Other Cocainee

 8th Grade 2.0 2.4 2.4 3.0 3.4 3.8 3.5 3.7 3.8 +0.1

 10th Grade 3.8 3.0 3.3 3.8 4.4 5.5 6.1 6.4 6.8 +0.4

 12th Grade 7.0 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 6.4 8.2 8.4 8.8 +0.4

Heroinf

 8th Grade 1.2 1.4 1.4 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.3 0.0

 10th Grade 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.7 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.3 0.0

 12th Grade 0.9 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.6 1.8 2.1 2.0 2.0 0.0

Other Narcoticsg

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.6 7.2 8.2 9.7 9.8 10.2 +0.4

Amphetaminesg

 8th Grade 10.5 10.8 11.8 12.3 13.1 13.5 12.3 11.3 10.7 -0.6

 10th Grade 13.2 13.1 14.9 15.1 17.4 17.7 17.0 16.0 15.7 -0.3

 12th Grade 15.4 13.9 15.1 15.7 15.3 15.3 16.5 16.4 16.3 -0.1

 Methamphetamineh,i

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — 4.5 —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — 7.3 —

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — 8.2 —
TABLE 1 (cont.)

Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Lifetime

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99

 Icei

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 3.3 2.9 3.1 3.4 3.9 4.4 4.4 5.3 4.8 -0.5

Barbituratesg

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 6.2 5.5 6.3 7.0 7.4 7.6 8.1 8.7 8.9 +0.2

Tranquilizersg

 8th Grade 3.8 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.5 5.3 4.8 4.6 4.4 -0.2

 10th Grade 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.4 6.0 7.1 7.3 7.8 7.9 +0.1

 12th Grade 7.2 6.0 6.4 6.6 7.1 7.2 7.8 8.5 9.3 +0.8

Rohypnold,j

 8th Grade — — — — — 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.3 -0.1

 10th Grade — — — — — 1.5 1.7 2.0 1.8 -0.2

 12th Grade — — — — — 1.2 1.8 3.0 2.0 -1.0

Alcoholk

 Any use

 8th Grade 70.1 69.3 67.1 — — — — — — —

55.7 55.8 54.5 55.3 53.8 52.5 52.1 -0.4

 10th Grade 83.8 82.3 80.8 — — — — — — —

71.6 71.1 70.5 71.8 72.0 69.8 70.6 +0.8

 12th Grade 88.0 87.5 87.0 — — — — — — —

80.0 80.4 80.7 79.2 81.7 81.4 80.0 -1.4

 Been Drunk 

i

 8th Grade 26.7 26.8 26.4 25.9 25.3 26.8 25.2 24.8 24.8 0.0

 10th Grade 50.0 47.7 47.9 47.2 46.9 48.5 49.4 46.7 48.9 +2.2

 12th Grade 65.4 63.4 62.5 62.9 63.2 61.8 64.2 62.4 62.3 -0.1

Cigarettes

 Any use

 8th Grade 44.0 45.2 45.3 46.1 46.4 49.2 47.3 45.7 44.1 -1.6

 10th Grade 55.1 53.5 56.3 56.9 57.6 61.2 60.2 57.7 57.6 -0.1

 12th Grade 63.1 61.8 61.9 62.0 64.2 63.5 65.4 65.3 64.6 -0.7

Smokeless Tobaccod

 8th Grade 22.2 20.7 18.7 19.9 20.0 20.4 16.8 15.0 14.4 -0.6

 10th Grade 28.2 26.6 28.1 29.2 27.6 27.4 26.3 22.7 20.4 -2.3

 12th Grade — 32.4 31.0 30.7 30.9 29.8 25.3 26.2 23.4 -2.8

Steroidsi

 8th Grade 1.9 1.7 1.6 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.3 2.7 +0.4

 10th Grade 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.7 +0.7ss

 12th Grade 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.4 2.3 1.9 2.4 2.7 2.9 +0.2

(FOOTNOTES are presented after Table 3)
(Table continued on next page)

TABLE 2

Trends in Annual and 30-Day Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs

for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Annual 30-Day

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99 '98–'99

Any Illicit Druga

 8th Grade 11.3 12.9 15.1 18.5 21.4 23.6 22.1 21.0 20.5 -0.5 5.7 6.8 8.4 10.9 12.4 14.6 12.9 12.1 12.2 +0.1

 10th Grade 21.4 20.4 24.7 30.0 33.3 37.5 38.5 35.0 35.9 +0.9 11.6 11.0 14.0 18.5 20.2 23.2 23.0 21.5 22.1 +0.6

 12th Grade 29.4 27.1 31.0 35.8 39.0 40.2 42.4 41.4 42.1 +0.7 16.4 14.4 18.3 21.9 23.8 24.6 26.2 25.6 25.9 +0.3

Any Illicit Drug

 Other Than Marijuanaa

 8th Grade 8.4 9.3 10.4 11.3 12.6 13.1 11.8 11.0 10.5 -0.5 3.8 4.7 5.3 5.6 6.5 6.9 6.0 5.5 5.5 0.0

 10th Grade 12.2 12.3 13.9 15.2 17.5 18.4 18.2 16.6 16.7 +0.1 5.5 5.7 6.5 7.1 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.6 8.6 0.0

 12th Grade 16.2 14.9 17.1 18.0 19.4 19.8 20.7 20.2 20.7 +0.5 7.1 6.3 7.9 8.8 10.0 9.5 10.7 10.7 10.4 -0.3

Any Illicit Drug

 Including Inhalantsa,b

 8th Grade 16.7 18.2 21.1 24.2 27.1 28.7 27.2 26.2 25.3 -0.9 8.8 10.0 12.0 14.3 16.1 17.5 16.0 14.9 15.1 +0.2

 10th Grade 23.9 23.5 27.4 32.5 35.6 39.6 40.3 37.1 37.7 +0.6 13.1 12.6 15.5 20.0 21.6 24.5 24.1 22.5 23.1 +0.6

 12th Grade 31.2 28.8 32.5 37.6 40.2 41.9 43.3 42.4 42.8 +0.4 17.8 15.5 19.3 23.0 24.8 25.5 26.9 26.6 26.4 -0.2

Marijuana/Hashish

 8th Grade 6.2 7.2 9.2 13.0 15.8 18.3 17.7 16.9 16.5 -0.4 3.2 3.7 5.1 7.8 9.1 11.3 10.2 9.7 9.7 0.0

 10th Grade 16.5 15.2 19.2 25.2 28.7 33.6 34.8 31.1 32.1 +1.0 8.7 8.1 10.9 15.8 17.2 20.4 20.5 18.7 19.4 +0.7

 12th Grade 23.9 21.9 26.0 30.7 34.7 35.8 38.5 37.5 37.8 +0.3 13.8 11.9 15.5 19.0 21.2 21.9 23.7 22.8 23.1 +0.3

Inhalantsb,c

 8th Grade 9.0 9.5 11.0 11.7 12.8 12.2 11.8 11.1 10.3 -0.8 4.4 4.7 5.4 5.6 6.1 5.8 5.6 4.8 5.0 +0.2

 10th Grade 7.1 7.5 8.4 9.1 9.6 9.5 8.7 8.0 7.2 -0.8 2.7 2.7 3.3 3.6 3.5 3.3 3.0 2.9 2.6 -0.3

 12th Grade 6.6 6.2 7.0 7.7 8.0 7.6 6.7 6.2 5.6 -0.6 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.7 3.2 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.0 -0.3

 Nitritesd

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 0.9 0.5 0.9 1.1 1.1 1.6 1.2 1.4 0.9 -0.5 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.7 1.0 0.4 -0.6s

Hallucinogensc

 8th Grade 1.9 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.6 4.1 3.7 3.4 2.9 -0.5 0.8 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.3 -0.1

 10th Grade 4.0 4.3 4.7 5.8 7.2 7.8 7.6 6.9 6.9 0.0 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.4 3.3 2.8 3.3 3.2 2.9 -0.3

 12th Grade 5.8 5.9 7.4 7.6 9.3 10.1 9.8 9.0 9.4 +0.4 2.2 2.1 2.7 3.1 4.4 3.5 3.9 3.8 3.5 -0.3

 LSD

 8th Grade 1.7 2.1 2.3 2.4 3.2 3.5 3.2 2.8 2.4 -0.4 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.1 1.1 0.0

 10th Grade 3.7 4.0 4.2 5.2 6.5 6.9 6.7 5.9 6.0 +0.1 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.0 3.0 2.4 2.8 2.7 2.3 -0.4

 12th Grade 5.2 5.6 6.8 6.9 8.4 8.8 8.4 7.6 8.1 +0.5 1.9 2.0 2.4 2.6 4.0 2.5 3.1 3.2 2.7 -0.5

 Hallucinogens

 Other Than LSD

 8th Grade 0.7 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.7 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.5 -0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.6 -0.1

 10th Grade 1.3 1.4 1.9 2.4 2.8 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 -0.2 0.4 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.2 -0.2

 12th Grade 2.0 1.7 2.2 3.1 3.8 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.3 -0.3 0.7 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 0.0
(Table continued on next page)

TABLE 2 (cont.)

Trends in Annual and 30-Day Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs

for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Annual 30-Day

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99 '98–'99

 PCPd

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.6 2.3 2.1 1.8 -0.3 0.5 0.6 1.0 0.7 0.6 1.3 0.7 1.0 0.8 -0.2

 MDMA (Ecstasy)d

 8th Grade — — — — — 2.3 2.3 1.8 1.7 -0.1 — — — — — 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 -0.1

 10th Grade — — — — — 4.6 3.9 3.3 4.4 +1.1s — — — — — 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.8 +0.5

 12th Grade — — — — — 4.6 4.0 3.6 5.6 +2.0ss — — — — — 2.0 1.6 1.5 2.5 +1.0s

Cocaine

 8th Grade 1.1 1.5 1.7 2.1 2.6 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.7 -0.4 0.5 0.7 0.7 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.1 1.4 1.3 -0.1

 10th Grade 2.2 1.9 2.1 2.8 3.5 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.9 +0.2 0.7 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.7 1.7 2.0 2.1 1.8 -0.3

 12th Grade 3.5 3.1 3.3 3.6 4.0 4.9 5.5 5.7 6.2 +0.5 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.6 +0.2

 Crack

 8th Grade 0.7 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.6 1.8 1.7 2.1 1.8 -0.4s 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 -0.1

 10th Grade 0.9 0.9 1.1 1.4 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.5 2.4 -0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.1 0.8 -0.3s

 12th Grade 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.7 +0.2 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 +0.1

 Other Cocainee

 8th Grade 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.7 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.3 -0.1 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.0 1.1 +0.1

 10th Grade 2.1 1.7 1.8 2.4 3.0 3.5 4.1 4.0 4.4 +0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.6 1.8 1.6 -0.2

 12th Grade 3.2 2.6 2.9 3.0 3.4 4.2 5.0 4.9 5.8 +0.9 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.0 2.5 +0.5

Heroinf

 8th Grade 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.4 +0.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.0

 10th Grade 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.0

 12th Grade 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.1 +0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.0

Other Narcoticsg

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 3.5 3.3 3.6 3.8 4.7 5.4 6.2 6.3 6.7 +0.4 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.6 +0.2

Amphetaminesg

 8th Grade 6.2 6.5 7.2 7.9 8.7 9.1 8.1 7.2 6.9 -0.3 2.6 3.3 3.6 3.6 4.2 4.6 3.8 3.3 3.4 +0.1

 10th Grade 8.2 8.2 9.6 10.2 11.9 12.4 12.1 10.7 10.4 -0.3 3.3 3.6 4.3 4.5 5.3 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.0 -0.1

 12th Grade 8.2 7.1 8.4 9.4 9.3 9.5 10.2 10.1 10.2 +0.1 3.2 2.8 3.7 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.8 4.6 4.5 -0.1

 Methamphetamineh,i

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — 3.2 — — — — — — — — — 1.1 —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — 4.6 — — — — — — — — — 1.8 —

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — 4.7 — — — — — — — — — 1.7 —
TABLE 2 (cont.)

Trends in Annual and 30-Day Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs

for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Annual 30-Day

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99 '98–'99

 Icei

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

 12th Grade 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.8 2.4 2.8 2.3 3.0 1.9 -1.1ss 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 1.1 1.1 0.8 1.2 0.8 -0.4

Barbituratesg

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

 12th Grade 3.4 2.8 3.4 4.1 4.7 4.9 5.1 5.5 5.8 +0.3 1.4 1.1 1.3 1.7 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.6 2.6 0.0

Tranquilizersg

 8th Grade 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.4 2.7 3.3 2.9 2.6 2.5 -0.1 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.1 -0.1

 10th Grade 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.3 4.0 4.6 4.9 5.1 5.4 +0.3 1.2 1.5 1.1 1.5 1.7 1.7 2.2 2.2 2.2 0.0

 12th Grade 3.6 2.8 3.5 3.7 4.4 4.6 4.7 5.5 5.8 +0.3 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.8 2.4 2.5 +0.1

Rohypnold,j

 8th Grade — — — — — 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.5 -0.3s — — — — — 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.3 -0.1

 10th Grade — — — — — 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.0 -0.2 — — — — — 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 +0.1

 12th Grade — — — — — 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.0 -0.4 — — — — — 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0

Alcoholk

 Any use

 8th Grade 54.0 53.7 51.6 — — — — — — — 25.1 26.1 26.2 — — — — — — —

45.4 46.8 45.3 46.5 45.5 43.7 43.5 -0.2 24.3 25.5 24.6 26.2 24.5 23.0 24.0 +1.0

 10th Grade 72.3 70.2 69.3 — — — — — — — 42.8 39.9 41.5 — — — — — — —

63.4 63.9 63.5 65.0 65.2 62.7 63.7 +1.0 38.2 39.2 38.8 40.4 40.1 38.8 40.0 +1.2

 12th Grade 77.7 76.8 76.0 — — — — — — — 54.0 51.3 51.0 — — — — — — —

72.7 73.0 73.7 72.5 74.8 74.3 73.8 -0.5 48.6 50.1 51.3 50.8 52.7 52.0 51.0 -1.0

 Been Drunki

 8th Grade 17.5 18.3 18.2 18.2 18.4 19.8 18.4 17.9 18.5 +0.6 7.6 7.5 7.8 8.7 8.3 9.6 8.2 8.4 9.4 +1.0

 10th Grade 40.1 37.0 37.8 38.0 38.5 40.1 40.7 38.3 40.9 +2.6s 20.5 18.1 19.8 20.3 20.8 21.3 22.4 21.1 22.5 +1.4

 12th Grade 52.7 50.3 49.6 51.7 52.5 51.9 53.2 52.0 53.2 +1.2 31.6 29.9 28.9 30.8 33.2 31.3 34.2 32.9 32.9 0.0

Cigarettes

 Any use

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — 14.3 15.5 16.7 18.6 19.1 21.0 19.4 19.1 17.5 -1.6s

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — 20.8 21.5 24.7 25.4 27.9 30.4 29.8 27.6 25.7 -1.9

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — — 28.3 27.8 29.9 31.2 33.5 34.0 36.5 35.1 34.6 -0.5

Smokeless Tobaccod

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — 6.9 7.0 6.6 7.7 7.1 7.1 5.5 4.8 4.5 -0.3

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — 10.0 9.6 10.4 10.5 9.7 8.6 8.9 7.5 6.5 -1.0

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — 11.4 10.7 11.1 12.2 9.8 9.7 8.8 8.4 -0.4

Steroidsi

 8th Grade 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.7 +0.5sss 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.7 +0.2s

 10th Grade 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.7 +0.5ss 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.9 +0.3s

 12th Grade 1.4 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.8 +0.1 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.7 1.0 1.1 0.9 -0.2

(FOOTNOTES are presented after Table 3)
(FOOTNOTES are presented on the next page)

TABLE 3

Trends in 30-Day Prevalence of Daily Use of Various Drugs for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

Daily

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99

Marijuana/Hashishl

 8th Grade 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.8 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.4 +0.3

 10th Grade 0.8 0.8 1.0 2.2 2.8 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.8 +0.2

 12th Grade 2.0 1.9 2.4 3.6 4.6 4.9 5.8 5.6 6.0 +0.4

Alcoholk.l

 Any daily use

 8th Grade 0.5 0.6 0.8 — — — — — — —

1.0 1.0 0.7 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.0 +0.1

 10th Grade 1.3 1.2 1.6 — — — — — — —

1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.9 0.0

 12th Grade 3.6 3.4 2.5 — — — — — — —

3.4 2.9 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.4 -0.6s

 5+ drinks in a row

 in last 2 weeks

 8th Grade 12.9 13.4 13.5 14.5 14.5 15.6 14.5 13.7 15.2 +1.5s

 10th Grade 22.9 21.1 23.0 23.6 24.0 24.8 25.1 24.3 25.6 +1.3

 12th Grade 29.8 27.9 27.5 28.2 29.8 30.2 31.3 31.5 30.8 -0.7

Cigarettes

 Any daily use

 8th Grade 7.2 7.0 8.3 8.8 9.3 10.4 9.0 8.8 8.1 -0.7

 10th Grade 12.6 12.3 14.2 14.6 16.3 18.3 18.0 15.8 15.9 +0.1

 12th Grade 18.5 17.2 19.0 19.4 21.6 22.2 24.6 22.4 23.1 +0.7

 1/2 pack+/day

 8th Grade 3.1 2.9 3.5 3.6 3.4 4.3 3.5 3.6 3.3 -0.3

 10th Grade 6.5 6.0 7.0 7.6 8.3 9.4 8.6 7.9 7.6 -0.3

 12th Grade 10.7 10.0 10.9 11.2 12.4 13.0 14.3 12.6 13.2 +0.6

Smokeless Tobaccod

 8th Grade 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.9 1.2 1.5 1.0 1.0 0.9 -0.1

 10th Grade 3.3 3.0 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.5 -0.7

 12th Grade — 4.3 3.3 3.9 3.6 3.3 4.4 3.2 2.9 -0.3
Footnotes for Table 1 to Table 3

NOTES: Level of significance of difference between the two years: s = .05, ss = .01, sss = .001.

'—' indicates data not available. '*' indicates less than .05 percent but greater than 0 percent.

Any apparent inconsistency between the change estimate and the prevalence of use estimates for the two years is due to rounding error.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.

Approximate Weighted Ns 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

8th Grade 17,500 18,600 18,300 17,300 17,500 17,800 18,600 18,100 16,700

10th Grade 14,800 14,800 15,300 15,800 17,000 15,600 15,500 15,000 13,600

12th Grade 15,000 15,800 16,300 15,400 15,400 14,300 15,400 15,200 13,600

For 12th graders only: Use of "any illicit drug" includes any use of marijuana, LSD, other hallucinogens, crack, other cocaine, or heroin, or any use a

of other narcotics, amphetamines, barbiturates, or tranquilizers not under a doctor's orders. For 8th and 10th graders: The use of other narcotics

and barbiturates has been excluded, because these younger respondents appear to overreport use (perhaps because they include the use of

nonprescription drugs in their answers).

For 12th graders only: Data based on five of six forms in 1991-98; N is five-sixths of N indicated. Data based on three of six forms beginning in b

1999; N is one-half of N indicated.

Inhalants are unadjusted for underreporting of amyl and butyl nitrites; hallucinogens are unadjusted for underreporting of PCP. c

For 8th and 10th graders only: Smokeless tobacco data based on one of two forms for 1991–96 and on two of four forms beginning in 1997; N is one- d

half of N indicated. MDMA data based on one-third of N indicated due to changes on the questionnaire forms. For 12th graders only: Data based

on one form; N is one-sixth of N indicated.

For 12th graders only: Data based on four of six forms; N is four-sixths of N indicated. e

In 1995, the heroin question was changed in three of six forms for 12th graders and in one of two forms for 8th and 10th graders. Separate f

questions were asked for use with injection and without injection. Data presented here represent the combined data from all forms. In 1996, the

heroin question was changed in all remaining 8th and 10th grade forms.

Only drug use which was not under a doctor's orders is included here. g

For 8th and 10th graders only: Data based on one of four forms; N is one-third of N indicated. h

For 12th graders only: Data based on two of six forms; N is two-sixths of N indicated. i

For 8th and 10th graders only: Data based on one of two forms in 1996–97; N is one-half of N indicated. Data based on three of four forms in 1998; j

N is two-thirds of N indicated. Data based on two of four forms beginning in 1999; N is one-third of N indicated.

For all grades: In 1993, the question text was changed slightly in half of the forms to indicate that a "drink" meant "more than a few sips." The k

data in the upper line for alcohol came from forms using the original wording, while the data in the lower line came from forms using the revised

wording. In 1993, each line of data was based on one of two forms for the 8th and 10th graders and on three of six forms for the 12th graders. N is

one-half of N indicated for all groups. Data for 1994–99 were based on all forms for all grades.

Daily use is defined as use on twenty or more occasions in the past thirty days except for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, for which actual daily use l

is measured, and for 5+ drinks, for which the prevalence or having five or more drinks in a row in the last two weeks is measured.
TABLE 4

Trends in Harmfulness of Drugs as Perceived by Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 1991–99

How much do you think

people risk harming

themselves (physically or in

other ways), if they . . . 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Percentage saying "great risk"a

8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade

'98–'99 '98–'99

Try marijuana once or twice 40.4 39.1 36.2 31.6 28.9 27.9 25.3 28.1 28.0 0.0 30.0 31.9 29.7 24.4 21.5 20.0 18.8 19.6 19.2 -0.4 27.1 24.5 21.9 19.5 16.3 15.6 14.9 16.7 15.7

Smoke marijuana occasionally 57.9 56.3 53.8 48.6 45.9 44.3 43.1 45.0 45.7 +0.7 48.6 48.9 46.1 38.9 35.4 32.8 31.9 32.5 33.5 +1.0 40.6 39.6 35.6 30.1 25.6 25.9 24.7 24.4 23.9

Smoke marijuana regularly 83.8 82.0 79.6 74.3 73.0 70.9 72.7 73.0 73.3 +0.3 82.1 81.1 78.5 71.3 67.9 65.9 65.9 65.8 65.9 +0.2 78.6 76.5 72.5 65.0 60.8 59.9 58.1 58.5 57.4

Try inhalants once or twiceb 35.9 37.0 36.5 37.9 36.4 40.8 40.1 38.9 40.8 +1.9 37.8 38.7 40.9 42.7 41.6 47.2 47.5 45.8 48.2 +2.3s — — — — — — — — —

Try inhalants regularlyb 65.6 64.4 64.6 65.5 64.8 68.2 68.7 67.2 68.8 +1.6 69.8 67.9 69.6 71.5 71.8 75.8 74.5 73.3 76.3 +3.0ss — — — — — — — — —

Take LSD once or twice — — 42.1 38.3 36.7 36.5 37.0 34.9 34.1 -0.8 — — 48.7 46.5 44.7 45.1 44.5 43.5 45.0 +1.5 46.6 42.3 39.5 38.8 36.4 36.2 34.7 37.4 34.9 c

Take LSD regularly — — 68.3 65.8 64.4 63.6 64.1 59.6 58.8 -0.8 — — 78.9 75.9 75.5 75.3 73.8 72.3 73.9 +1.6 84.3 81.8 79.4 79.1 78.1 77.8 76.6 76.5 76.1 c

Try crack once or twice 62.8 61.2 57.2 54.4 50.8 51.0 49.9 49.3 48.7 -0.6 70.4 69.6 66.6 64.7 60.9 60.9 59.2 58.0 57.8 -0.1 60.6 62.4 57.6 58.4 54.6 56.0 54.0 52.2 48.2 b

Take crack occasionally 82.2 79.6 76.8 74.4 72.1 71.6 71.2 70.6 70.6 0.0 87.4 86.4 84.4 83.1 81.2 80.3 78.7 77.5 79.1 +1.7 76.5 76.3 73.9 73.8 72.8 71.4 70.3 68.7 67.3 b

Try cocaine powder once or

 twice 55.5 54.1 50.7 48.4 44.9 45.2 45.0 44.0 43.3 -0.6 59.1 59.2 57.5 56.4 53.5 53.6 52.2 50.9 51.6 +0.7 53.6 57.1 53.2 55.4 52.0 53.2 51.4 48.5 46.1 b

Take cocaine powder

 occasionally 77.0 74.3 71.8 69.1 66.4 65.7 65.8 65.2 65.4 +0.1 82.2 80.1 79.1 77.8 75.6 75.0 73.9 71.8 73.6 +1.8 69.8 70.8 68.6 70.6 69.1 68.8 67.7 65.4 64.2 b

Try heroin once or twice

 without using a needle — — — — 60.1 61.3 63.0 62.8 63.0 +0.2 — — — — 70.7 72.1 73.1 71.7 73.7 +2.0 — — — — 55.6 58.6 60.5 59.6 58.5 c

Take heroin occasionally

 without using a needle — — — — 76.8 76.6 79.2 79.0 78.9 -0.1 — — — — 85.1 85.8 86.5 84.9 86.5 +1.6 — — — — 71.2 71.0 74.3 73.4 73.6 c

Try one or two drinks of an

 alcoholic beverage (beer,

 wine, liquor) 11.0 12.1 12.4 11.6 11.6 11.8 10.4 12.1 11.6 -0.5 9.0 10.1 10.9 9.4 9.3 8.9 9.0 10.1 10.5 +0.4 9.1 8.6 8.2 7.6 5.9 7.3 6.7 8.0 8.3

Take one or two drinks

 nearly every day 31.8 32.4 32.6 29.9 30.5 28.6 29.1 30.3 29.7 -0.6 36.1 36.8 35.9 32.5 31.7 31.2 31.8 31.9 32.9 +0.9 32.7 30.6 28.2 27.0 24.8 25.1 24.8 24.3 21.8

Have five or more drinks

 once or twice each weekend 59.1 58.0 57.7 54.7 54.1 51.8 55.6 56.0 55.3 -0.8 54.7 55.9 54.9 52.9 52.0 50.9 51.8 52.5 51.9 -0.6 48.6 49.0 48.3 46.5 45.2 49.5 43.0 42.8 43.1

Smoke one or more packs of

 cigarettes per day 51.6 50.8 52.7 50.8 49.8 50.4 52.6 54.3 54.8 +0.5 60.3 59.3 60.7 59.0 57.0 57.9 59.9 61.9 62.7 +0.8 69.4 69.2 69.5 67.6 65.6 68.2 68.7 70.8 70.8 d

Use smokeless tobacco

 regularly 35.1 35.1 36.9 35.5 33.5 34.0 35.2 36.5 37.1 +0.6 40.3 39.6 44.2 42.2 38.2 41.0 42.2 42.8 44.2 +1.4 37.4 35.5 38.9 36.6 33.2 37.4 38.6 40.9 41.1

Take steroids 64.2 69.5 70.2 67.6 — — — — — — 67.1 72.7 73.4 72.5 — — — — — — 65.6 70.7 69.1 66.1 66.4 67.6 67.2 68.1 62.1 e

Approx. N (in thousands) = 17.4 18.7 18.4 17.4 17.5 17.9 18.8 18.1 16.7 14.7 14.8 15.3 15.9 17.0 15.7 15.6 15.0 13.6 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.3

NOTES: Level of significance of difference between the two most recent classes: s = .05, ss = .01, sss = .001. '—' indicates data not available.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.

Answer alternatives were: (1) No risk, (2) Slight risk, (3) Moderate risk, (4) Great risk, and (5) Can't say, drug unfamiliar. a

8th and 10th grade: Beginning in 1997, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. b

8th and 10th grade: Data based on one of two forms in 1993–96; N is one-half of N indicated. Beginning in 1997, data based on one-third of N indicated due to changes in c

questionnaire forms.

8th and 10th grade: Beginning in 1999, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. d

8th and 10th grade: Data based on two forms in 1991 and 1992. Data based on one of two forms in 1993 and 1994; N is one-half of N indicated. e
TABLE 5

Trends in Disapproval of Drug Use by Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 1991–99

Percent who "disapprove" or "strongly disapprove"a

8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Gradeb

Do you disapprove of people

who . . . 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

'98–'99 '98–'99

Try marijuana once or twice 84.6 82.1 79.2 72.9 70.7 67.5 67.6 69.0 70.7 +1.8s 74.6 74.8 70.3 62.4 59.8 55.5 54.1 56.0 56.2 +0.2 68.7 69.9 63.3 57.6 56.7 52.5 51.0 51.6 48.8

Smoke marijuana occasionally 89.5 88.1 85.7 80.9 79.7 76.5 78.1 78.4 79.3 +0.9 83.7 83.6 79.4 72.3 70.0 66.9 66.2 67.3 68.2 +1.0 79.4 79.7 75.5 68.9 66.7 62.9 63.2 64.4 62.5

Smoke marijuana regularly 92.1 90.8 88.9 85.3 85.1 82.8 84.6 84.5 84.5 0.0 90.4 90.0 87.4 82.2 81.1 79.7 79.7 80.1 79.8 -0.3 89.3 90.1 87.6 82.3 81.9 80.0 78.8 81.2 78.6

Try inhalants once or twicec84.9 84.0 82.5 81.6 81.8 82.9 84.1 83.0 85.2 +2.2s 85.2 85.6 84.8 84.9 84.5 86.0 86.9 85.6 88.4 +2.8sss — — — — — — — — —

Take inhalants regularlyc90.6 90.0 88.9 88.1 88.8 89.3 90.3 89.5 90.3 +0.8 91.0 91.5 90.9 91.0 90.9 91.7 91.7 91.1 92.4 +1.2s — — — — — — — — —

Try LSD once or twice — — 77.1 75.2 71.6 70.9 72.1 69.1 69.4 +0.3 — — 82.1 79.3 77.9 76.8 76.6 76.7 77.8 +1.1 90.1 88.1 85.9 82.5 81.1 79.6 80.5 82.1 83.0 d

Take LSD regularly — — 79.8 78.4 75.8 75.3 76.3 72.5 72.5 -0.1 — — 86.8 85.6 84.8 84.5 83.4 82.9 84.3 +1.4 96.4 95.5 95.8 94.3 92.5 93.2 92.9 93.5 94.3 d

Try crack once or twice 91.7 90.7 89.1 86.9 85.9 85.0 85.7 85.4 86.0 +0.6 92.5 92.5 91.4 89.9 88.7 88.2 87.4 87.1 87.8 +0.8 92.1 93.1 89.9 89.5 91.4 87.4 87.0 86.7 87.6 c

Take crack occasionally 93.3 92.5 91.7 89.9 89.8 89.3 90.3 89.5 89.9 +0.4 94.3 94.4 93.6 92.5 91.7 91.9 91.0 90.6 91.5 +0.8 94.2 95.0 92.8 92.8 94.0 91.2 91.3 90.9 92.3 c

Try cocaine powder once or

 twice 91.2 89.6 88.5 86.1 85.3 83.9 85.1 84.5 85.2 +0.7 90.8 91.1 90.0 88.1 86.8 86.1 85.1 84.9 86.0 +1.1 88.0 89.4 86.6 87.1 88.3 83.1 83.0 83.1 84.3 c

Take cocaine powder

 occasionally 93.1 92.4 91.6 89.7 89.7 88.7 90.1 89.3 89.9 +0.5 94.0 94.0 93.2 92.1 91.4 91.1 90.4 89.7 90.7 +1.0 93.0 93.4 91.2 91.0 92.7 89.7 89.3 88.7 90.0 c

Try heroin once or twice

 without using a needle — — — — 85.8 85.0 87.7 87.3 88.0 +0.6 — — — — 89.7 89.5 89.1 88.6 90.1 +1.4 — — — — 92.9 90.8 92.3 93.0 92.6 d

Take heroin occasionally

 without using a needle — — — — 88.5 87.7 90.1 89.7 90.2 +0.6 — — — — 91.6 91.7 91.4 90.5 91.8 +1.3 — — — — 94.7 93.2 94.4 94.3 93.8 d

Try one or two drinks of an

 alcoholic beverage (beer,

 wine, liquor) 51.7 52.2 50.9 47.8 48.0 45.5 45.7 47.5 48.3 +0.9 37.6 39.9 38.5 36.5 36.1 34.2 33.7 34.7 35.1 +0.3 29.8 33.0 30.1 28.4 27.3 26.5 26.1 24.5 24.6

Take one or two drinks

 nearly every day 82.2 81.0 79.6 76.7 75.9 74.1 76.6 76.9 77.0 +0.1 81.7 81.7 78.6 75.2 75.4 73.8 75.4 74.6 75.4 +0.8 76.5 75.9 77.8 73.1 73.3 70.8 70.0 69.4 67.2

Have five or more drinks

 once or twice each weekend 85.2 83.9 83.3 80.7 80.7 79.1 81.3 81.0 80.3 -0.7 76.7 77.6 74.7 72.3 72.2 70.7 70.2 70.5 69.9 -0.6 67.4 70.7 70.1 65.1 66.7 64.7 65.0 63.8 62.7

Smoke one or more packs of

 cigarettes per day 82.8 82.3 80.6 78.4 78.6 77.3 80.3 80.0 81.4 +1.4 79.4 77.8 76.5 73.9 73.2 71.6 73.8 75.3 76.1 +0.8 71.4 73.5 70.6 69.8 68.2 67.2 67.1 68.8 69.5 e

Use smokeless tobacco

 regularly 79.1 77.2 77.1 75.1 74.0 74.1 76.5 76.3 78.0 +1.8s 75.4 74.6 73.8 71.2 71.0 71.0 72.3 73.2 75.1 +1.8s — — — — — — — — —

Take steroids 89.8 90.3 89.9 87.9 — — — — — — 90.0 91.0 91.2 90.8 — — — — — — 90.5 92.1 92.1 91.9 91.0 91.7 91.4 90.8 88.9 f

Approx. N (in thousands) = 17.4 18.5 18.4 17.4 17.6 18.0 18.8 18.1 16.7 14.8 14.8 15.3 15.9 17.0 15.7 15.6 15.0 13.6 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.3

NOTES: Level of significance of difference between the two most recent classes: s = .05, ss = .01, sss = .001. '—' indicates data not available.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.

Answer alternatives were: (1) Don't disapprove, (2) Disapprove, and (3) Strongly disapprove. For 8th and 10th grades, there was another category—"Can't say, drug a

unfamiliar"—which was included in the calculation of these percentages.

The twelfth grade questions ask about people who are 18 or older. b

8th and 10th grade: Beginning in 1997, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. c

8th and 10th grade: Data based on one of two forms in 1993–96; N is one-half of N indicated. Beginning in 1997, data based on one-third of N indicated due to changes in d

questionnaire forms.

8th and 10th grade: Beginning in 1999, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. e

8th and 10th grade: Data based on two forms in 1991 and 1992 and on one of two forms in 1993 and 1994; N is one-half of N indicated. f
TABLE 6

Trends in Perceived Availability of Drugs by Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders, 1992–99

How difficult do you

think it would be for

you to get each of

the following types

of drugs, if you

wanted some?

Percent saying "fairly easy" or "very easy" to geta

8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 change

'98–'99 '98–'99 '98–'99

Marijuana 42.3 43.8 49.9 52.4 54.8 54.2 50.6 48.4 -2.2s 65.2 68.4 75.0 78.1 81.1 80.5 77.9 78.2 +0.3 82.7 83.0 85.5 88.5 88.7 89.6 90.4 88.9 -1.5

LSD 21.5 21.8 21.8 23.5 23.6 22.7 19.3 18.3 -1.0 33.6 35.8 36.1 39.8 41.0 38.3 34.0 34.3 +0.2 44.5 49.2 50.8 53.8 51.3 50.7 48.8 44.7 -4.1s

Some other

 psychedelic — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 29.9 33.5 33.8 35.8 33.9 33.9 35.1 29.5 -5.7sss

PCP 18.0 18.5 17.7 19.0 19.6 19.2 17.5 17.1 -0.4 23.7 23.4 23.8 24.7 26.8 24.8 23.9 24.5 +0.6 31.7 31.7 31.4 31.0 30.5 30.0 30.7 26.7 -4.0s b

MDMA (Ecstasy) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 24.2 28.1 31.2 34.2 36.9 38.8 38.2 40.1 +1.9

Cocaine — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 52.7 48.5 46.6 47.7 48.1 48.5 51.3 47.6 -3.7s

Crack 25.6 25.9 26.9 28.7 27.9 27.5 26.5 25.9 -0.7 33.7 33.0 34.2 34.6 36.4 36.0 36.3 36.5 +0.2 43.5 43.6 40.5 41.9 40.7 40.6 43.8 41.1 -2.7

Cocaine powder 25.7 25.9 26.4 27.8 27.2 26.9 25.7 25.0 -0.7 35.0 34.1 34.5 35.3 36.9 37.1 36.8 36.7 -0.2 48.0 45.4 43.7 43.8 44.4 43.3 45.7 43.7 -2.1

Heroin 19.7 19.8 19.4 21.1 20.6 19.8 18.0 17.5 -0.5 24.3 24.3 24.7 24.6 24.8 24.4 23.0 23.7 +0.8 34.9 33.7 34.1 35.1 32.2 33.8 35.6 32.1 -3.5s

Other narcotics 19.8 19.0 18.3 20.3 20.0 20.6 17.1 16.2 -0.9 26.9 24.9 26.9 27.8 29.4 29.0 26.1 26.6 +0.5 37.1 37.5 38.0 39.8 40.0 38.9 42.8 40.8 -2.0 b

Amphetamines 32.2 31.4 31.0 33.4 32.6 30.6 27.3 25.9 -1.5 43.4 46.4 46.6 47.7 47.2 44.6 41.0 41.3 +0.3 58.8 61.5 62.0 62.8 59.4 59.8 60.8 58.1 -2.7

Crystal meth. (ice) 16.0 15.1 14.1 16.0 16.3 15.7 16.0 14.7 -1.3 18.8 16.4 17.8 20.7 22.6 22.9 22.1 21.8 -0.3 26.0 26.6 25.6 27.0 26.9 27.6 29.8 27.6 -2.2 b

Barbiturates 27.4 26.1 25.3 26.5 25.6 24.4 21.1 20.8 -0.3 38.0 38.8 38.3 38.8 38.1 35.6 32.7 33.2 +0.5 44.0 44.5 43.3 42.3 41.4 40.0 40.7 37.9 -2.8

Tranquilizers 22.9 21.4 20.4 21.3 20.4 19.6 18.1 17.3 -0.7 31.6 30.5 29.8 30.6 30.3 28.7 26.5 26.8 +0.3 40.9 41.1 39.2 37.8 36.0 35.4 36.2 32.7 -3.6s

Alcohol 76.2 73.9 74.5 74.9 75.3 74.9 73.1 72.3 -0.8 88.6 88.9 89.8 89.7 90.4 89.0 88.0 88.2 +0.2 — — — — — — — 95.0

Cigarettes 77.8 75.5 76.1 76.4 76.9 76.0 73.6 71.5 -2.1ss 89.1 89.4 90.3 90.7 91.3 89.6 88.1 88.3 +0.2 — — — — — — — —

Steroids 24.0 22.7 23.1 23.8 24.1 23.6 22.3 22.6 +0.3 37.6 33.6 33.6 34.8 34.8 34.2 33.0 35.9 +2.9ss 46.8 44.8 42.9 45.5 40.3 41.7 44.5 44.6 +0.1

Approx. N = 8355 16775 16119 15496 16318 16482 16208 15397 7014 14652 15192 16209 14887 14856 14423 13112 2586 2670 2526 2552 2340 2517 2520 2215

NOTES: Level of significance of difference between the two years: s = .05, ss = .01, sss = .001. '—' indicates data not available.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.

Answer alternatives were: (1) Probably impossible, (2) Very difficult, (3) Fairly difficult, (4) Fairly easy, and (5) Very easy. For 8th and 10th grades, there was another a

category—"Can't say, drug unfamiliar"—which was included in the calculation of these percentages.

8th and 10th grade only: Beginning in 1993, data based on one of two forms; N is one-half of N indicated. b
For more information about the Monitoring the Future study

visit our web site at http://www.MonitoringTheFuture.org.
National Institute on Drug Abuse

NIH Publication No. 00-4690

Printed 2000