National Institute on Drug Abuse

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

National Institutes of Health

Monitoring the Future

National Results on Adolescent Drug Use

2000

Overview 

of Key 

Findings
MONITORING THE FUTURE

NATIONAL RESULTS ON ADOLESCENT DRUG USE

Overview of Key Findings, 2000

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

2001
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

Smokeless Tobacco 34

Steroids 36

Subgroup Differences 38

Tables Covering All Drugs

1. Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use 40

 Footnotes for Tables 1-3 43

2. Trends in Annual and 30-Day Prevalence of Use 44

3. Trends in 30-Day Prevalence of Daily Use 47

4. Trends in Perceived Harmfulness among

 8th and 10th Graders 48

5. Trends in Perceived Harmfulness among

 12th Graders 49

6. Trends in Disapproval among

 8th and 10th Graders 50

7. Trends in Disapproval among

 12th Graders 51

8. Trends in Perceived Availability among

 8th and 10th Graders 52

9. Trends in Perceived Availability among

 12th Graders 53
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.

Recommended Citation

Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., & Bachman, J.

G. (2001). Monitoring the Future national results

on adolescent drug use: Overview of key

findings, 2000. (NIH Publication No. 01-4923).

Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

National Institute on Drug Abuse

NIH Publication No. 01-4923

Printed 2001

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

Washington, DC 20402
For more information about the Monitoring the Future study

visit our web site at http://www.MonitoringTheFuture.org.
1

Introduction

Monitoring the Future is a long-term study of

American adolescents, college students, and

adults through age 40. It is conducted by the

University of Michigan’s Institute for Social

Research and is supported under a series of investigator-initiated, competing research grants

from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

This volume presents an overview of the key

findings from the 2000 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 contain graphs

showing trends in past-year use and (when

available) trends in perceived risk, disapproval,

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

these graphs are given in the tables at the end

of this report, covering the period 1991-2000.1

 

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.

These 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 1999-2000 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 2000 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 a given

time interval—e.g., lifetime, past 12 months, or past 30 days. The

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

the past 30 days.

3

 The forthcoming publication in this series is: Johnston, L. D.,

O’Malley, P. M., and Bachman, J. G. (2001). Monitoring the Future

national survey results on drug use, 1975-2000: Volume I, Secondary

school students. (NIH Publication No. 01-4924). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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

and Bachman, J. G. (2000). Monitoring the Future national survey

results on drug use, 1975-1999: Volume II, College students and

adults ages 19-40. (NIH Publication No. 00-4803). Bethesda, MD:

National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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 2000 sample sizes were 17,300, 14,600,

and 13,300 in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, respectively. In all, about 45,000 students in 435

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 in 12th grade

they are confidential (to permit the longitudinal

follow-up of a subsample 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 and smokeless tobacco). For

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?” (the answer categories are “never,”

“once or twice,” and so on); and “How frequently have you smoked cigarettes during the

past 30 days?” (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.) Parallel questions are

asked about smokeless tobacco.

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

of three questions asks about the frequency of

being drunk. 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

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

say, drug unfamiliar.” Perceived 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?”

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 2000

generated mixed results, as did the 1999 surveys.

Drugs Holding Steady

After one or two years of decline, overall illicit

drug use among teens remained steady in 2000

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

of important specific drugs—marijuana, amphetamines, hallucinogens other than LSD,

tranquilizers, barbiturates, and alcohol.

(Sections 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 16%, 32%, and 37%.

Current daily prevalence rates (defined as the

proportion using it on 20 or more occasions in

the prior thirty days) are 1.3%, 3.8%, and 6.0%.

Annual prevalence peaked in 1996 for 8th

graders and a year later in the upper grades.

There has been a steady, but gradual decline in

8th grade since 1996, but not much change in

grades 10 and 12.

While the use of a number of drugs held steady

in 2000, the use of certain other drugs increased, while the use of still others decreased.

Drugs Increasing in Use

The most important increase was observed for

MDMA (“ecstasy”), although the increase in

steroid use also continued among 10th graders

this year and heroin use increased among 12th

graders.

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

popularity at nightclubs and “raves”—had

shown a sharp rise in use in 1999 among older

teens, following several years of gradual decline. In 2000 ecstasy use increased at all three

grade levels. While the 1999 increase was concentrated mainly in the Northeast, the increase

in 2000 showed up primarily in the other three

regions of the country, suggesting a diffusion

of the drug out from the Northeast, as well as

down the age spectrum. Ecstasy use is now

more prevalent among American teens than

cocaine use, with one in thirty 8th graders

(3.1%) using it in the prior 12 months, as well

as one in every twelve 12th graders (8.2%).

Reported availability of the drug continues to

increase sharply.

Steroid use among younger male teens had increased sharply in 1999. In 2000 this increase

continued among 10th grade boys, but use held

steady in the other two grades. (Rates of use are

much lower among girls and their use has

changed little since 1998.) Concurrent with

this sharp increase in use has been a sharp drop

between 1998 and 2000 in the amount of risk

12th graders saw as associated with steroid use

(8th and 10th graders are not asked this question). It seems likely that students at all grade

levels would have shown such a decline, were

the data available.

Heroin use (without using a needle) showed a

significant increase in 12th grade in 2000, rising from 1.0% in 1999 to 1.6%. At the same

time, heroin use in 8th grade showed the first

decline in some years, after having doubled

between 1993 and 1999.

Drugs Decreasing in Use

Use rates for a number of drugs are down by

fair proportions at all grades from their peak

levels in the mid-’90s, including inhalants,

LSD, crystal methamphetamine, and Rohypnol.

However, the only statistically significant declines in any of these particular drugs this year

occurred for LSD use among 12th graders. The

12th graders, who have tended to be the last to

decline and have shown the least decline, also

showed significant declines in their use of

crack cocaine and powder cocaine this year.
4

It is noteworthy that the downturns in the ’90s

started first, and have been the most sustained,

among the 8th graders for a number of drugs.

These include marijuana, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, tranquilizers, Rohypnol, cigarettes,

and smokeless tobacco.

Inhalant use, which had shown a gradual ongoing decline at all three grade levels over the

previous four years, only showed a continuation of that decline in 2000 at 8th grade (not

statically significant). Inhalants, the only class

of drugs that 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 2000 were 9%, 7%,

and 6%, respectively.

In sum, while the use of a number of illicit

drugs remained stable, and three (ecstasy, heroin, and steroids) showed some increase, use of

several important classes of drugs have exhibited important declines, particularly across the

last several years.

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 of older ones 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 ’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. 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
5

country’s “drug problem” alive. Because of the

lag times described previously, during which

evidence of 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 begins the 21st century, clearly

the problems of substance abuse remain widespread among American young people. Today

over half (54%) 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 (35%), 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

20% 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 (63%) have tried cigarettes by 12th

grade, and almost a third (31%) of 12th graders

are current smokers. Even as early as 8th

grade, four in every ten students (41%) have

tried cigarettes, and 15% already are current

smokers. Fortunately, we have seen some improvement in smoking statistics in just the last

several 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% from the 1991 levels (when data

first were gathered on these grades). Since

1996, smoking in these grades has fallen off

considerably (by 30% and 21%, respectively),

including the further decline in 2000. In 12th

grade, peak use occurred a year later, in 1997,

from which there has been a more modest decline of 14%. In 2000, specifically, there were

significant declines in smoking in all three

grades. Increases in perceived risk and disapproval of smoking may be contributing to this

downturn. (See the section on cigarettes for

more detail.)

Smokeless tobacco use has also been in decline in recent years. Concentrated among

males, like steroid use, it has shown fair proportional declines.

Alcohol use remains 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 2000 report having

been drunk at least once in their life. 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, but 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 inclusion 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. Thus, after

the lower grades were added to the study, a

special index was added that includes inhalants.

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%

by 1992—the low point. Today, the proportion

is back to 54%, after a period of considerable

 

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.

rise in the ’90s. The comparable trends for annual, as opposed to lifetime, prevalence appear

in the second (upper right) panel. They show a

gradual and continuing falloff after 1996

among 8th graders. Peak rates were reached in

1997 in the two upper grades, but there has

been no further decline since 1998.

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 the other, so-called

“harder,” illicit drugs. The proportions using

any illicit drug other than marijuana are in

the third panel (lower left). In 1975 over onethird (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 2000 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, more rapidly changing 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

0

20

40

60

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100

'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

0

20

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100

'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

0

20

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60

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100

'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

0

20

40

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80

100

'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

 % 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

 Year Year

 Year Year
8

Marijuana

Marijuana has been the most widely used illicit

drug for the 25 years of this study. Marijuana

can be taken orally, mixed with food, and

smoked in a concentrated form as hashish—the

use of which is much more common in Europe.

However, nearly all the 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 began during 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. There has been

some very modest decline since those peak levels, though no one-year change was significant

in 2000.

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 by 1996 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 some increase in

disapproval among 8th graders (including in

2000) but not yet much among 10th and 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 is less accessible to younger adolescents.

Still, in 2000 nearly half of all 8th graders

(47%) 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 some falloff since, particularly at 8th grade. Availability peaked a bit

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

Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders

0

20

40

60

80

100

'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

Twelfth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eighth Grade

0

20

40

60

80

100

'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

0

20

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'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

0

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'76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00

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

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

 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

available 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 exhibited a steady decline in use through 1999, though it halted at

8th and 10th grades in 2000. The Partnership

for a Drug-Free America launched an antiinhalant 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 was a

slight upward drift in this attitude from 1995

through 1999, but both 8th and 10th grades

showed a leveling in 2000.

Availability

Respondents have not been asked about the

availability of inhalants. We have assumed that

these substances are universally available to

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

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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. Annual prevalence at all three grades is now below the peak

level reached in 1996 by between a quarter and

a third. Use continued to drop in the upper two

grades in 2000.

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. After 1996 there emerged a slight increase in disapproval among 12th graders, accompanied by a leveling among 10th graders

and some further decline among 8th graders.

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

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 % 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

 Year Year

 Year Year
14

Cocaine

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

emerged for a while. 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 use. 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%, before making its first significant decline

to 5.0% in 2000. Use also rose in 8th and 10th

grades after 1992, before leveling in 8th grade

after 1996 and in 10th after 1997.

Perceived Risk

General questions about the dangers of cocaine

and disapproval of cocaine have been asked

only of 12th graders. The results tell a fascinating story. 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 (by 14 percentage

points 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, but also 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. Perceived risk continued to rise

through 1990, and the fall in use continued.

Perceived risk began to decline after 1991, and

use began a long rise a year later.

Disapproval

Disapproval of cocaine use by 12th graders

followed a cross-time pattern similar to that for

perceived risk, although its 7 percentage point

jump in 1987 was not quite so pronounced.

There was some decline from 1991 to 1997, but

fair stability since then.

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 further 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 fairly

steady. Note that the pattern of change does

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

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 % 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

 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 started to drop in 8th

grade and in 10th. The recent peak in 12th

grade was reached in 1999 (2.7%), but there

was a significant drop to 2.2% in 2000.

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.) Perceived risk for

crack rose still higher 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 that interval.)

After 1990 some falloff in perceived risk began, well before crack use began to increase in

1994. Thus it was a leading indicator. Between 1991 and about 1998 there was a considerable falloff in this belief in grades 8 and 10,

as use rose quite steadily. Risk leveled in 2000

in grades 8 and 12. We think that the declines

in perceived risk for crack and cocaine during

the ’90s may well reflect an example of “generational forgetting,” wherein the class cohorts

that were in adolescence when the adverse consequences were most obvious are replaced by

newer cohorts who know less about the dangers

of the drug.

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, and there has been little

change since. Eighth and tenth graders, however, 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

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 % 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

 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 in 12th grade by 1997. Since

those peak years, use has declined by about a

quarter in 8th grade, by less in 10th, and not at

all in 12th.

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-

2000. 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 specific to that

drug, but rather due to some displacement by

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.

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 (as use rose),

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

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 % 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

 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, crystal methamphetamine or “ice,” made a comeback in the

’80s. It comes in crystallized 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 to 1993 (at around 1.1%)

followed by a period of increase to 2.5% by

1998 and then a decline to 1.9% in 2000.

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 (“ice”) use in the prior year,

a figure which climbed to 3.0% by 1998, followed by a decline to 2.2% by 2000. (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 yield

a somewhat higher annual prevalence for 12th

graders: 4.3% in 2000, compared to the sum of

the crystal meth and methamphetamine answers

in the other question format, which totals 2.8%.

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 newer questions show fairly high levels of

methamphetamine use: annual prevalence rates

in 2000 of 2.5%, 4.0%, and 4.3% for 8th, 10th,

and 12th grades, respectively. These levels are

down some from 1999 in all three grade levels

(not statistically significant).

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

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

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22

Heroin

Heroin is a derivative of opium. For many decades it has been taken primarily by means of

injection into a vein. 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

facing page are based on heroin use by any

method.

Trends in Use

The annual prevalence of heroin use among

12th graders fell by 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 through

1999. In 2000 it declined significantly at 8th

grade while rising significantly at 12th.

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 ways. At 10th grade a somewhat higher

proportion of all users took 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. All of the

increase among 12th graders in 2000 was due

to increasing use without injecting.

Perceived Risk

Students have long seen heroin to be one of the

most dangerous drugs, which no doubt helps to

account both for the consistently high level of

personal disapproval of use (see below) and the

quite low prevalence of use. 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 to 1992, before stabilizing at about

35%. At the lower grade levels, reported availability has been less, and has declined some

since the mid-’90s.
Heroin: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

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

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 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 that are legally sold only

by prescription, like amphetamines. 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 from their answers.

Trends in Use

During the late ’70s and all of the ’80s, tranquilizers fell steadily from 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. Annual prevalence more

than doubled among 12th graders by 2000 to

5.7%. (This rate compares to 10.8% in the

peak year of 1977.) 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 nonmedically prescribed tranquilizer use fell dramatically during the ’70s and ’80s, so did the

proportion saying that tranquilizers would be

fairly easy to get. Whether declining use

caused the decline in availability, or vice versa,

is unclear. Perceived availability fell from 72%

in 1975 to 34% in 2000. 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.
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% seeing “great risk” in using once or twice

 % disapproving of using once or twice

(no data)

(no data)

Year

Year
26

Barbiturates

Like tranquilizers, barbiturate sedatives are

prescription-controlled psychotherapeutic drugs

that are central nervous system depressants.

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 to 1992, use fell by three-fourths,

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

2000, though, reaching 6.2%.

Another class of sedatives, methaqualone, has

been included in the study from the beginning.

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 through 1999.

Use then dropped significantly to 0.3% in 2000.

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 1995, 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 86% by 2000 during a period of increasing use.

Availability

As the fourth facing panel shows, the availability of barbiturates 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

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

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 Year Year

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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.”

This informal category includes LSD, MDMA

(“ecstasy”), Rohypnol, methamphetamine, ketamine (“special K”), and GHB. We will deal

here primarily with ecstasy and Rohypnol.

LSD and methamphetamine already have been

discussed, and ketamine and GHB were just

added to the questionnaire in 2000.

The annual prevalence of GHB use in 2000

was 1.2%, 1.1%, and 1.9% in grades 8, 10, and

12. The annual prevalence of ketamine use

was 1.6%, 2.1%, and 2.5%.

Rohypnol and GHB have been labeled “date

rape drugs” because both can induce amnesia

of events that occurred while under the influence of the drug and have been used in connection with rapes or seductions. Use is likely underreported since the user may be unaware of

having used the drugs.

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

further decline in 2000, though no one of those

declines 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 mildly 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. Their results showed ecstasy use

beginning to rise above trace levels in 1995,

and continuing to rise at least through 1999.)

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—but fell in both grades over the

next two years. In 1999, and again in 2000,

use rose sharply in both grades, bringing annual

prevalence up to 5.4% among 10th graders and

8.2% among 12th graders. In 2000 use also

rose among 8th graders, to 3.1%.

The charts on the facing page show little

change in perceived risk or disapproval of ecstasy since 1997, but they do show a dramatic

rise in perceived availability since 1991—particularly in the year 2000. The increase in ecstasy use in 1999 occurred primarily in the

Northeast and in large cities, whereas in 2000

the increase diffused into all of the other regions, showing no further increase in the

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

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 % 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

 Year Year

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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 2000 the proportions of 8th, 10th, and 12th

graders who admitted drinking an alcoholic

beverage in the 30-day period prior to the survey were 22%, 41%, and 50%, 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, or what we call “binge drinking” for short.

It is measured in this study by the reported

number of occasions on which the respondent

had five or more drinks in a row during the

prior two-week interval. 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 over the past three

years 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 with 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 until

1999 was asked only of 8th and 10th graders,

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

although there may have been some decline in

8th grade since 1997.
Alcohol: Trends in Binge Drinking, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

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% 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”

 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 of smoking,

this statement surely remains true for these

newer cohorts of young people.

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 for more than a decade, 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 the next four to five

years 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 beginning a decline in all three grades, which continued into 2000. Since the peak levels in the

mid-’90s, the thirty-day prevalence of smoking

has declined by 30% in 8th grade, 21% in 10th,

and 16% in 12th. (In 2000 a single question

was introduced to measure the annual prevalence of “bidis,” a type of flavored cigarette

imported from India, and the annual rates for

8th, 10th, and 12th graders were 3.9%, 6.4%,

and 9.2%.)

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. (It is possible

that cigarette advertising effectively offset the

effects of rising perceptions of risk during that

five-year period.) 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 from the early ’90s

through 1997. In the two lower grades a decline in disapproval occurred between 1991 and

1996, the period of sharply increasing use.

Since those low points, there has been a steady

increase in disapproval.

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.) Since

1996 availability has been declining, particularly among the 8th graders.
Cigarettes: Trends in 30-Day Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

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 % 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

 Year Year

 Year Year

 or more per day

 or more per day
34

Smokeless Tobacco

Smokeless tobacco comes in two forms:

“snuff” and “chew.” Snuff is finely ground tobacco usually sold in tins, either loose or in

packets. It is held in the mouth between the lip

or cheek and gums. Chew is a leafy form of

tobacco, usually sold in pouches. It too is held

in the mouth and may, as the name suggests, be

chewed. In both cases, nicotine is absorbed by

the mucous membranes of the mouth. Because

smokeless tobacco stimulates saliva production,

it is sometimes referred to as “spit” tobacco.

Trends in Use

The use of smokeless tobacco by teens has

been decreasing gradually from recent peak

levels in the mid-’90s, and the overall declines

have been substantial. Among 8th graders

thirty-day prevalence is down from a 1994 peak

of 7.7% to 4.2% in 2000; 10th graders’ use is

down from a 1994 peak of 10.5% to 6.1% in

2000; and 12th graders’ use is down from a

1995 peak of 12.2% to 7.6% in 2000. These

reflect relative declines from peak levels of

45%, 42%, and 38%, respectively. One could

say, more generally, that teen use of smokeless

tobacco is down by about 40% from the peak

levels reached in the mid-’90s.

Thirty-day prevalence of daily use of smokeless tobacco also has fallen gradually, but appreciably, in recent years. The daily usage

rates in 2000 are 0.9%, 1.9%, and 3.2% in

grades 8, 10 and 12. These are down by between a quarter and a half from the peak levels

recorded in the early ’90s, with the greatest

proportional decline in 8th grade and the least

in 12th.

It should be noted that smokeless tobacco use

among American young people is almost exclusively a male behavior. For example,

among males the thirty-day prevalence rates in

2000 are 6.7%, 11.4% and 14.4% in grades 8,

10, and 12, respectively, versus 1.8%, 1.3%,

and 1.3% among females. The current daily

use rates for males are 1.5%, 3.9%, and 6.5%

compared to 0.3%, 0.2%, and 0.4% for females.

There are some other important demographic

differences as well. Use tends to be much

higher in the South and North Central regions

of the country than in the Northeast and West.

It also tends to be more concentrated in nonmetropolitan areas than metropolitan ones and

to be negatively correlated with the education

level of the parents. Use is also much higher

among Whites than it is among African Americans or Hispanics.

Perceived Risk

The recent low point in the level of perceived

risk for smokeless tobacco was 1995 in all

three grades. Since then there has been a gradual but substantial increase in proportion saying

there is a great risk in using it regularly—

among 8th graders, from 34% to 39% in 2000;

among 10th graders, from 38% to 47%; and

among 12th graders, from 33% to 42%. These

increases continued in 2000. It thus appears

that one important reason for the appreciable

declines in smokeless tobacco use during the

latter half of the ’90s was the fact that an increasing proportion of young people were persuaded of the dangers of using it.

Disapproval

Only 8th and 10th graders are asked about their

personal disapproval of using smokeless tobacco regularly. The recent low points for disapproval in both grades were 1995 and 1996.

Since 1996, disapproval has risen from 74% to

79% among 8th graders and from 71% to 76%

among 10th graders.

Availability

There are no questions in the study concerning

the perceived availability of smokeless tobacco.
Smokeless Tobacco: Trends in 30-Day Use, Risk, Disapproval,

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36

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 the higher rates and larger fluctuations

that occur among males. For example, in 2000

the annual prevalence rates were two to five

times as high among males as among females.

Boys’ annual prevalence rates were 2.2%,

3.6%, and 2.5% in grades 8, 10, and 12, compared with 1.0%, 0.8%, and 0.9% 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 1.7% in 2000. In

2000 use continued to rise only among 10th

graders.

Perceived Risk

Perceived risk and disapproval were asked only

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 since

1998. This 10 percentage point drop is quite

unusual and highly significant, suggesting that

some particular event (or events) in 1998

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, despite the decline in perceived

risk.

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 and are sold in health food stores,

drugstores, and even supermarkets.
Steroids: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, Disapproval, and Availability

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 % 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

 Year Year

 Year Year
38

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 in 2000 and the one forthcoming in

2001—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 higher rates of frequent use), much higher rates of smokeless tobacco and steroid use, higher rates of heavy

drinking, and roughly equivalent rates of cigarette smoking (though among 12th graders the

two genders have reversed order twice during

the life of the study). These differences appear

to emerge as students grow older, since for

many drugs these gender 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 (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

some 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, but that drug’s newfound popularity spread to the three other regions of the country in 2000, while stabilizing

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 upsurge in ecstasy use in 1999 was largely concentrated in

urban areas, but in 2000 use increased in communities of all sizes. Crack and heroin use are

not concentrated in urban areas, as is commonly thought, meaning that no parents should

assume their youngsters are immune to these

threats simply because they do not live in a

city.
39

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 level in the early ’80s. That association had nearly disappeared by 1986,

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 socioeconomic level that diminished considerably, between roughly 1985

and 1993. In more recent years that negative

association is re-emerging in the lower grades,

as use declines faster among students from

more educated families. 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 most

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 2000 change

’99–’00

Any Illicit Druga

 8th Grade 18.7 20.6 22.5 25.7 28.5 31.2 29.4 29.0 28.3 26.8 -1.5

 10th Grade 30.6 29.8 32.8 37.4 40.9 45.4 47.3 44.9 46.2 45.6 -0.6

 12th Grade 44.1 40.7 42.9 45.6 48.4 50.8 54.3 54.1 54.7 54.0 -0.7

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 15.8 -0.6

 10th Grade 19.1 19.2 20.9 21.7 24.3 25.5 25.0 23.6 24.0 23.1 -0.9

 12th Grade 26.9 25.1 26.7 27.6 28.1 28.5 30.0 29.4 29.4 29.0 -0.3

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 35.1 -2.0

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

 12th Grade 47.6 44.4 46.6 49.1 51.5 53.5 56.3 56.1 56.3 57.0 +0.8

Marijuana/Hashish

 8th Grade 10.2 11.2 12.6 16.7 19.9 23.1 22.6 22.2 22.0 20.3 -1.8

 10th Grade 23.4 21.4 24.4 30.4 34.1 39.8 42.3 39.6 40.9 40.3 -0.7

 12th Grade 36.7 32.6 35.3 38.2 41.7 44.9 49.6 49.1 49.7 48.8 -0.9

Inhalantsb,c

 8th Grade 17.6 17.4 19.4 19.9 21.6 21.2 21.0 20.5 19.7 17.9 -1.8s

 10th Grade 15.7 16.6 17.5 18.0 19.0 19.3 18.3 18.3 17.0 16.6 -0.4

 12th Grade 17.6 16.6 17.4 17.7 17.4 16.6 16.1 15.2 15.4 14.2 -1.2

 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 0.8 -0.8

Hallucinogensc

 8th Grade 3.2 3.8 3.9 4.3 5.2 5.9 5.4 4.9 4.8 4.6 -0.1

 10th Grade 6.1 6.4 6.8 8.1 9.3 10.5 10.5 9.8 9.7 8.9 -0.8

 12th Grade 9.6 9.2 10.9 11.4 12.7 14.0 15.1 14.1 13.7 13.0 -0.7

 LSD

 8th Grade 2.7 3.2 3.5 3.7 4.4 5.1 4.7 4.1 4.1 3.9 -0.2

 10th Grade 5.6 5.8 6.2 7.2 8.4 9.4 9.5 8.5 8.5 7.6 -1.0

 12th Grade 8.8 8.6 10.3 10.5 11.7 12.6 13.6 12.6 12.2 11.1 -1.1

 Hallucinogens

 Other Than LSD

 8th Grade 1.4 1.7 1.7 2.2 2.5 3.0 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 -0.1

 10th Grade 2.2 2.5 2.8 3.8 3.9 4.7 4.8 5.0 4.7 4.8 +0.1

 12th Grade 3.7 3.3 3.9 4.9 5.4 6.8 7.5 7.1 6.7 6.9 +0.2

 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 3.4 -0.1
(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 2000 change

’99–’00

 MDMA (Ecstasy)d,e

 8th Grade — — — — — 3.4 3.2 2.7 2.7 4.3 +1.6ss

 10th Grade — — — — — 5.6 5.7 5.1 6.0 7.3 +1.3

 12th Grade — — — — — 6.1 6.9 5.8 8.0 11.0 +3.0s

Cocaine

 8th Grade 2.3 2.9 2.9 3.6 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.5 -0.2

 10th Grade 4.1 3.3 3.6 4.3 5.0 6.5 7.1 7.2 7.7 6.9 -0.9

 12th Grade 7.8 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0 7.1 8.7 9.3 9.8 8.6 -1.2

 Crack

 8th Grade 1.3 1.6 1.7 2.4 2.7 2.9 2.7 3.2 3.1 3.1 0.0

 10th Grade 1.7 1.5 1.8 2.1 2.8 3.3 3.6 3.9 4.0 3.7 -0.3

 12th Grade 3.1 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.9 4.4 4.6 3.9 -0.7s

 Other Cocainef

 8th Grade 2.0 2.4 2.4 3.0 3.4 3.8 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.5 -0.3

 10th Grade 3.8 3.0 3.3 3.8 4.4 5.5 6.1 6.4 6.8 6.0 -0.8

 12th Grade 7.0 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 6.4 8.2 8.4 8.8 7.7 -1.1

Heroing

 8th Grade 1.2 1.4 1.4 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.3 1.9 -0.4

 10th Grade 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.7 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.2 -0.1

 12th Grade 0.9 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.6 1.8 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.4 +0.4

 With a needleh

 8th Grade — — — — 1.5 1.6 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.1 -0.5ss

 10th Grade — — — — 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.0 -0.2

 12th Grade — — — — 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.8 -0.1

 Without a needleh

 8th Grade — — — — 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3 -0.1

 10th Grade — — — — 1.1 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 0.0

 12th Grade — — — — 1.4 1.7 2.1 1.6 1.8 2.4 +0.6

Other Narcoticsi

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.6 7.2 8.2 9.7 9.8 10.2 10.6 +0.4

Amphetaminesi

 8th Grade 10.5 10.8 11.8 12.3 13.1 13.5 12.3 11.3 10.7 9.9 -0.8

 10th Grade 13.2 13.1 14.9 15.1 17.4 17.7 17.0 16.0 15.7 15.7 +0.1

 12th Grade 15.4 13.9 15.1 15.7 15.3 15.3 16.5 16.4 16.3 15.6 -0.7

 Methamphetaminej,k

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — 4.5 4.2 -0.3

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — 7.3 6.9 -0.5

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — 8.2 7.9 -0.3
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 2000 change

’99–’00

 Icek

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 3.3 2.9 3.1 3.4 3.9 4.4 4.4 5.3 4.8 4.0 -0.8

Barbituratesi

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade 6.2 5.5 6.3 7.0 7.4 7.6 8.1 8.7 8.9 9.2 +0.2

Tranquilizersi

 8th Grade 3.8 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.5 5.3 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.4 0.0

 10th Grade 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.4 6.0 7.1 7.3 7.8 7.9 8.0 +0.1

 12th Grade 7.2 6.0 6.4 6.6 7.1 7.2 7.8 8.5 9.3 8.9 -0.5

Rohypnold,l

 8th Grade — — — — — 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.0 -0.3

 10th Grade — — — — — 1.5 1.7 2.0 1.8 1.3 -0.5

 12th Grade — — — — — 1.2 1.8 3.0 2.0 1.5 -0.6

Alcoholm

 Any use

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

55.7 55.8 54.5 55.3 53.8 52.5 52.1 51.7 -0.4

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

71.6 71.1 70.5 71.8 72.0 69.8 70.6 71.4 +0.9

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

80.0 80.4 80.7 79.2 81.7 81.4 80.0 80.3 +0.2

 Been Drunk 

k

 8th Grade 26.7 26.8 26.4 25.9 25.3 26.8 25.2 24.8 24.8 25.1 +0.3

 10th Grade 50.0 47.7 47.9 47.2 46.9 48.5 49.4 46.7 48.9 49.3 +0.4

 12th Grade 65.4 63.4 62.5 62.9 63.2 61.8 64.2 62.4 62.3 62.3 0.0

Cigarettes

 Any use

 8th Grade 44.0 45.2 45.3 46.1 46.4 49.2 47.3 45.7 44.1 40.5 -3.6sss

 10th Grade 55.1 53.5 56.3 56.9 57.6 61.2 60.2 57.7 57.6 55.1 -2.5s

 12th Grade 63.1 61.8 61.9 62.0 64.2 63.5 65.4 65.3 64.6 62.5 -2.1

Smokeless Tobaccod,e

 8th Grade 22.2 20.7 18.7 19.9 20.0 20.4 16.8 15.0 14.4 12.8 -1.6

 10th Grade 28.2 26.6 28.1 29.2 27.6 27.4 26.3 22.7 20.4 19.1 -1.3

 12th Grade — 32.4 31.0 30.7 30.9 29.8 25.3 26.2 23.4 23.1 -0.4

Steroidsk

 8th Grade 1.9 1.7 1.6 2.0 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.0 +0.3

 10th Grade 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.7 3.5 +0.8ss

 12th Grade 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.4 2.3 1.9 2.4 2.7 2.9 2.5 -0.4

NOTES: Level of significance of difference between the two most recent classes:

s = .05, ss = .01, sss = .001. ‘—’ indicates data not available.

Any apparent inconsistency between the change estimate and the prevalence of use

estimates for the two most recent classes is due to rounding error.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.
(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 2000 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

’99–’00 ’99–’00

Any Illicit Druga

 8th Grade 11.3 12.9 15.1 18.5 21.4 23.6 22.1 21.0 20.5 19.5 -1.1 5.7 6.8 8.4 10.9 12.4 14.6 12.9 12.1 12.2 11.9 -0.4

 10th Grade 21.4 20.4 24.7 30.0 33.3 37.5 38.5 35.0 35.9 36.4 +0.5 11.6 11.0 14.0 18.5 20.2 23.2 23.0 21.5 22.1 22.5 +0.4

 12th Grade 29.4 27.1 31.0 35.8 39.0 40.2 42.4 41.4 42.1 40.9 -1.2 16.4 14.4 18.3 21.9 23.8 24.6 26.2 25.6 25.9 24.9 -1.0

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 10.2 -0.4 3.8 4.7 5.3 5.6 6.5 6.9 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.6 +0.1

 10th Grade 12.2 12.3 13.9 15.2 17.5 18.4 18.2 16.6 16.7 16.7 0.0 5.5 5.7 6.5 7.1 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.6 8.6 8.5 -0.1

 12th Grade 16.2 14.9 17.1 18.0 19.4 19.8 20.7 20.2 20.7 20.4 -0.3 7.1 6.3 7.9 8.8 10.0 9.5 10.7 10.7 10.4 10.4 0.0

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 24.0 -1.4 8.8 10.0 12.0 14.3 16.1 17.5 16.0 14.9 15.1 14.4 -0.7

 10th Grade 23.9 23.5 27.4 32.5 35.6 39.6 40.3 37.1 37.7 38.0 +0.3 13.1 12.6 15.5 20.0 21.6 24.5 24.1 22.5 23.1 23.6 +0.5

 12th Grade 31.2 28.8 32.5 37.6 40.2 41.9 43.3 42.4 42.8 42.5 -0.3 17.8 15.5 19.3 23.0 24.8 25.5 26.9 26.6 26.4 26.4 0.0

Marijuana/Hashish

 8th Grade 6.2 7.2 9.2 13.0 15.8 18.3 17.7 16.9 16.5 15.6 -0.9 3.2 3.7 5.1 7.8 9.1 11.3 10.2 9.7 9.7 9.1 -0.6

 10th Grade 16.5 15.2 19.2 25.2 28.7 33.6 34.8 31.1 32.1 32.2 +0.2 8.7 8.1 10.9 15.8 17.2 20.4 20.5 18.7 19.4 19.7 +0.3

 12th Grade 23.9 21.9 26.0 30.7 34.7 35.8 38.5 37.5 37.8 36.5 -1.3 13.8 11.9 15.5 19.0 21.2 21.9 23.7 22.8 23.1 21.6 -1.6

Inhalantsb,c

 8th Grade 9.0 9.5 11.0 11.7 12.8 12.2 11.8 11.1 10.3 9.4 -0.9 4.4 4.7 5.4 5.6 6.1 5.8 5.6 4.8 5.0 4.5 -0.5

 10th Grade 7.1 7.5 8.4 9.1 9.6 9.5 8.7 8.0 7.2 7.3 +0.1 2.7 2.7 3.3 3.6 3.5 3.3 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.6 0.0

 12th Grade 6.6 6.2 7.0 7.7 8.0 7.6 6.7 6.2 5.6 5.9 +0.3 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.7 3.2 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.0 2.2 +0.2

 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 0.6 -0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.7 1.0 0.4 0.3 -0.1

Hallucinogensc

 8th Grade 1.9 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.6 4.1 3.7 3.4 2.9 2.8 0.0 0.8 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.3 1.2 -0.1

 10th Grade 4.0 4.3 4.7 5.8 7.2 7.8 7.6 6.9 6.9 6.1 -0.9 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.4 3.3 2.8 3.3 3.2 2.9 2.3 -0.6s

 12th Grade 5.8 5.9 7.4 7.6 9.3 10.1 9.8 9.0 9.4 8.1 -1.3s 2.2 2.1 2.7 3.1 4.4 3.5 3.9 3.8 3.5 2.6 -0.9ss

 LSD

 8th Grade 1.7 2.1 2.3 2.4 3.2 3.5 3.2 2.8 2.4 2.4 +0.1 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.0 -0.1

 10th Grade 3.7 4.0 4.2 5.2 6.5 6.9 6.7 5.9 6.0 5.1 -0.9 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.0 3.0 2.4 2.8 2.7 2.3 1.6 -0.7ss

 12th Grade 5.2 5.6 6.8 6.9 8.4 8.8 8.4 7.6 8.1 6.6 -1.5s 1.9 2.0 2.4 2.6 4.0 2.5 3.1 3.2 2.7 1.6 -1.2sss

 Hallucinogens

 Other Than LSD

 8th Grade 0.7 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.7 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4 -0.1 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 +0.1

 10th Grade 1.3 1.4 1.9 2.4 2.8 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.1 -0.1 0.4 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.2 0.0

 12th Grade 2.0 1.7 2.2 3.1 3.8 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.3 4.4 +0.1 0.7 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 +0.1
(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 2000 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

’99–’00 ’99–’00

 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 2.3 +0.5 0.5 0.6 1.0 0.7 0.6 1.3 0.7 1.0 0.8 0.9 +0.1

 MDMA (Ecstasy)d,e

 8th Grade — — — — — 2.3 2.3 1.8 1.7 3.1 +1.4sss — — — — — 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 1.4 +0.7ss

 10th Grade — — — — — 4.6 3.9 3.3 4.4 5.4 +1.0 — — — — — 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.8 2.6 +0.8s

 12th Grade — — — — — 4.6 4.0 3.6 5.6 8.2 +2.6ss — — — — — 2.0 1.6 1.5 2.5 3.6 +1.1

Cocaine

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

 10th Grade 2.2 1.9 2.1 2.8 3.5 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.4 -0.5 0.7 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.7 1.7 2.0 2.1 1.8 1.8 -0.1

 12th Grade 3.5 3.1 3.3 3.6 4.0 4.9 5.5 5.7 6.2 5.0 -1.3s 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.1 -0.5

 Crack

 8th Grade 0.7 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.6 1.8 1.7 2.1 1.8 1.8 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.8 -0.1

 10th Grade 0.9 0.9 1.1 1.4 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.2 -0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.1 0.8 0.9 +0.1

 12th Grade 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.2 -0.5s 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.0 -0.1

 Other Cocainef

 8th Grade 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.7 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.4 2.3 1.9 -0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.9 -0.2

 10th Grade 2.1 1.7 1.8 2.4 3.0 3.5 4.1 4.0 4.4 3.8 -0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.6 0.0

 12th Grade 3.2 2.6 2.9 3.0 3.4 4.2 5.0 4.9 5.8 4.5 -1.4s 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.0 2.5 1.7 -0.7s

Heroing

 8th Grade 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.1 -0.3s 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 -0.2

 10th Grade 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 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 0.5 -0.2

 12th Grade 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.5 +0.4s 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.7 +0.2

 With a needleh

 8th Grade — — — — 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.6 -0.3ss — — — — 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.3 -0.1

 10th Grade — — — — 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.5 -0.1 — — — — 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 -0.1

 12th Grade — — — — 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.0 — — — — 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0

 Without a needleh

 8th Grade — — — — 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.7 -0.2 — — — — 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 -0.1

 10th Grade — — — — 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 0.0 — — — — 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 -0.2

 12th Grade — — — — 1.0 1.0 1.2 0.8 1.0 1.6 +0.6ss — — — — 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.7 +0.3

Other Narcoticsi

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

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

 12th Grade 3.5 3.3 3.6 3.8 4.7 5.4 6.2 6.3 6.7 7.0 +0.3 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.9 +0.3

Amphetaminesi

 8th Grade 6.2 6.5 7.2 7.9 8.7 9.1 8.1 7.2 6.9 6.5 -0.4 2.6 3.3 3.6 3.6 4.2 4.6 3.8 3.3 3.4 3.4 +0.1

 10th Grade 8.2 8.2 9.6 10.2 11.9 12.4 12.1 10.7 10.4 11.1 +0.7 3.3 3.6 4.3 4.5 5.3 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.4 +0.5

 12th Grade 8.2 7.1 8.4 9.4 9.3 9.5 10.2 10.1 10.2 10.5 +0.3 3.2 2.8 3.7 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.8 4.6 4.5 5.0 +0.5
(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 2000 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

’99–’00 ’99–’00

 Methamphetaminej,k

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — 3.2 2.5 -0.7 — — — — — — — — 1.1 0.8 -0.3

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — 4.6 4.0 -0.6 — — — — — — — — 1.8 2.0 +0.2

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — 4.7 4.3 -0.3 — — — — — — — — 1.7 1.9 +0.2

 Icej

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

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

 12th Grade 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.8 2.4 2.8 2.3 3.0 1.9 2.2 +0.3 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7 1.1 1.1 0.8 1.2 0.8 1.0 +0.2

Barbituratesh

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

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

 12th Grade 3.4 2.8 3.4 4.1 4.7 4.9 5.1 5.5 5.8 6.2 +0.4 1.4 1.1 1.3 1.7 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.6 2.6 3.0 +0.4

Tranquilizersh

 8th Grade 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.4 2.7 3.3 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.6 +0.2 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.4 +0.3

 10th Grade 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.3 4.0 4.6 4.9 5.1 5.4 5.6 +0.2 1.2 1.5 1.1 1.5 1.7 1.7 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 +0.4

 12th Grade 3.6 2.8 3.5 3.7 4.4 4.6 4.7 5.5 5.8 5.7 -0.1 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.8 2.4 2.5 2.6 +0.1

Rohypnold,k

 8th Grade — — — — — 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.5 +0.1 — — — — — 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.0

 10th Grade — — — — — 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.0 0.8 -0.3 — — — — — 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4 -0.2

 12th Grade — — — — — 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.0 0.8 -0.2 — — — — — 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 +0.1

GHBj,k

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — 1.2 — — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — 1.1 — — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — 1.9 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Ketaminej,k

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — 1.6 — — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — 2.1 — — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — 2.5 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Alcoholl

 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 43.1 -0.4 24.3 25.5 24.6 26.2 24.5 23.0 24.0 22.4 -1.7

 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 65.3 +1.6 38.2 39.2 38.8 40.4 40.1 38.8 40.0 41.0 +0.9

 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 73.2 -0.6 48.6 50.1 51.3 50.8 52.7 52.0 51.0 50.0 -1.0

 Been Drunkj

 8th Grade 17.5 18.3 18.2 18.2 18.4 19.8 18.4 17.9 18.5 18.5 0.0 7.6 7.5 7.8 8.7 8.3 9.6 8.2 8.4 9.4 8.3 -1.1

 10th Grade 40.1 37.0 37.8 38.0 38.5 40.1 40.7 38.3 40.9 41.6 +0.7 20.5 18.1 19.8 20.3 20.8 21.3 22.4 21.1 22.5 23.5 +1.0

 12th Grade 52.7 50.3 49.6 51.7 52.5 51.9 53.2 52.0 53.2 51.8 -1.4 31.6 29.9 28.9 30.8 33.2 31.3 34.2 32.9 32.9 32.3 -0.6
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 2000 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

’99–’00 ’99–’00

Cigarettes

 Any use

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — 14.3 15.5 16.7 18.6 19.1 21.0 19.4 19.1 17.5 14.6 -2.8sss

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — 20.8 21.5 24.7 25.4 27.9 30.4 29.8 27.6 25.7 23.9 -1.8

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — 28.3 27.8 29.9 31.2 33.5 34.0 36.5 35.1 34.6 31.4 -3.2ss

Bidisj,k

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — 3.9 — — — — — — — — — — — —

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — 6.4 — — — — — — — — — — — —

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — 9.2 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Smokeless Tobaccod

 8th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — 6.9 7.0 6.6 7.7 7.1 7.1 5.5 4.8 4.5 4.2 -0.3

 10th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — 10.0 9.6 10.4 10.5 9.7 8.6 8.9 7.5 6.5 6.1 -0.5

 12th Grade — — — — — — — — — — — — 11.4 10.7 11.1 12.2 9.8 9.7 8.8 8.4 7.6 -0.7

Steroidsj

 8th Grade 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.7 1.7 0.0 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.8 +0.1

 10th Grade 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.7 2.2 +0.5s 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.9 1.0 0.0

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

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

‘—’ indicates data not available.

See Table 1 for relevant footnotes.

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

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.
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 2000 change

’99–’00

Marijuana/Hashish, dailyn

 8th Grade 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.8 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.3 0.0

 10th Grade 0.8 0.8 1.0 2.2 2.8 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.8 3.8 0.0

 12th Grade 2.0 1.9 2.4 3.6 4.6 4.9 5.8 5.6 6.0 6.0 0.0

Alcoholm,n

 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 0.8 -0.3s

 10th Grade 1.3 1.2 1.6 — — — — — — — —

1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.8 -0.1

 12th Grade 3.6 3.4 2.5 — — — — — — — —

3.4 2.9 3.5 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.4 2.9 -0.4

Been Drunk, dailyk

 8th Grade 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 -0.1

 10th Grade 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 -0.2

 12th Grade 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.2 1.3 1.6 2.0 1.5 1.9 1.7 -0.2

 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 14.1 -1.1

 10th Grade 22.9 21.1 23.0 23.6 24.0 24.8 25.1 24.3 25.6 26.2 +0.6

 12th Grade 29.8 27.9 27.5 28.2 29.8 30.2 31.3 31.5 30.8 30.0 -0.8

Cigarettes

 Any daily use

 8th Grade 7.2 7.0 8.3 8.8 9.3 10.4 9.0 8.8 8.1 7.4 -0.7

 10th Grade 12.6 12.3 14.2 14.6 16.3 18.3 18.0 15.8 15.9 14.0 -1.9s

 12th Grade 18.5 17.2 19.0 19.4 21.6 22.2 24.6 22.4 23.1 20.6 -2.5s

 1/2 pack+/day

 8th Grade 3.1 2.9 3.5 3.6 3.4 4.3 3.5 3.6 3.3 2.8 -0.5

 10th Grade 6.5 6.0 7.0 7.6 8.3 9.4 8.6 7.9 7.6 6.2 -1.4ss

 12th Grade 10.7 10.0 10.9 11.2 12.4 13.0 14.3 12.6 13.2 11.3 -1.9ss

Smokeless Tobacco, dailyd,e

 8th Grade 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.9 1.2 1.5 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.0

 10th Grade 3.3 3.0 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.5 1.9 +0.3

 12th Grade — 4.3 3.3 3.9 3.6 3.3 4.4 3.2 2.9 3.2 +0.3

NOTES: Level of significance of difference between the two most recent classes:

s = .05, ss = .01, sss =. 001. ‘—’ indicates data not available.

See Table 1 for relevant footnotes.

Any apparent inconsistency between the change estimate and the prevalence of use

estimates for the two most recent classes is due to rounding error.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.
Footnotes for Table 1 to Table 3

Approximate Weighted Ns 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

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

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

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

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. Beginning in 1999, data based on three of six b

forms; N is three-sixths of N indicated.

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

For 12th graders only: Data based on one form; N is one-sixth of N indicated. d

For 8th and 10th graders only: MDMA data based on one form in 1996; N is one-half of N indicated. Beginning in 1997, data based on one-third of e

N indicated due to changes on the questionnaire forms. Smokeless tobacco data based on one of two forms for 1991–96 and on two of four forms

beginning in 1997; N is one-half of N indicated.

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

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 g

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.

For 8th and 10th graders only: Data based on one of two forms in 1995; N is one-half of N indicated. For 12th graders only: Data based on three of h

six forms; N is three-sixths of N indicated.

Only drug use which was not under a doctor’s orders is included here. i

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

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

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; l

N is two-thirds of N indicated. Beginning in 1999, data based on two of four forms; 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 m

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. Beginning in 1994, data 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 n

use 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 and Tenth Graders, 1991–2000

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 2000 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

Percentage saying “great risk”a

8th Grade 10th Grade

’99–’00 ’99–’00

Try marijuana once or twice 40.4 39.1 36.2 31.6 28.9 27.9 25.3 28.1 28.0 29.0 +0.9 30.0 31.9 29.7 24.4 21.5 20.0 18.8 19.6 19.2 18.5 -0.7

Smoke marijuana occasionally 57.9 56.3 53.8 48.6 45.9 44.3 43.1 45.0 45.7 47.4 +1.8 48.6 48.9 46.1 38.9 35.4 32.8 31.9 32.5 33.5 32.4 -1.1

Smoke marijuana regularly 83.8 82.0 79.6 74.3 73.0 70.9 72.7 73.0 73.3 74.8 +1.4 82.1 81.1 78.5 71.3 67.9 65.9 65.9 65.8 65.9 64.7 -1.2

Try inhalants once or twice 35.9 37.0 36.5 37.9 36.4 40.8 40.1 38.9 40.8 41.2 +0.3 37.8 38.7 40.9 42.7 41.6 47.2 47.5 45.8 48.2 46.6 -1.6 b

Try inhalants regularly 65.6 64.4 64.6 65.5 64.8 68.2 68.7 67.2 68.8 69.9 +1.1 69.8 67.9 69.6 71.5 71.8 75.8 74.5 73.3 76.3 75.0 -1.3 b

Take LSD once or twice — — 42.1 38.3 36.7 36.5 37.0 34.9 34.1 34.0 -0.2 — — 48.7 46.5 44.7 45.1 44.5 43.5 45.0 43.0 -2.1 c

Take LSD regularly — — 68.3 65.8 64.4 63.6 64.1 59.6 58.8 57.5 -1.3 — — 78.9 75.9 75.5 75.3 73.8 72.3 73.9 72.0 -1.9 c

Try crack once or twice 62.8 61.2 57.2 54.4 50.8 51.0 49.9 49.3 48.7 48.5 -0.2 70.4 69.6 66.6 64.7 60.9 60.9 59.2 58.0 57.8 56.1 -1.7 b

Take crack occasionally 82.2 79.6 76.8 74.4 72.1 71.6 71.2 70.6 70.6 70.1 -0.5 87.4 86.4 84.4 83.1 81.2 80.3 78.7 77.5 79.1 76.9 -2.2s 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 43.3 0.0 59.1 59.2 57.5 56.4 53.5 53.6 52.2 50.9 51.6 48.8 -2.8ss b

Take cocaine powder

 occasionally 77.0 74.3 71.8 69.1 66.4 65.7 65.8 65.2 65.4 65.5 +0.1 82.2 80.1 79.1 77.8 75.6 75.0 73.9 71.8 73.6 70.9 -2.7ss b

Try heroin once or twice

 without using a needle — — — — 60.1 61.3 63.0 62.8 63.0 62.0 -1.0 — — — — 70.7 72.1 73.1 71.7 73.7 71.7 -1.9 c

Take heroin occasionally

 without using a needle — — — — 76.8 76.6 79.2 79.0 78.9 78.6 -0.3 — — — — 85.1 85.8 86.5 84.9 86.5 85.2 -1.3 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 11.9 +0.3 9.0 10.1 10.9 9.4 9.3 8.9 9.0 10.1 10.5 9.6 -1.0

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 30.4 +0.7 36.1 36.8 35.9 32.5 31.7 31.2 31.8 31.9 32.9 32.3 -0.6

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 55.9 +0.6 54.7 55.9 54.9 52.9 52.0 50.9 51.8 52.5 51.9 51.0 -0.9

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 58.8 +4.0ss 60.3 59.3 60.7 59.0 57.0 57.9 59.9 61.9 62.7 65.9 +3.3s d

Use smokeless tobacco

 regularly 35.1 35.1 36.9 35.5 33.5 34.0 35.2 36.5 37.1 39.0 +1.9 40.3 39.6 44.2 42.2 38.2 41.0 42.2 42.8 44.2 46.7 +2.5s

Take steroidse 64.2 69.5 70.2 67.6 — — — — — — — 67.1 72.7 73.4 72.5 — — — — — — —

Approx. N (in thousands) = 17.4 18.7 18.4 17.4 17.5 17.9 18.8 18.1 16.7 16.7 14.7 14.8 15.3 15.9 17.0 15.7 15.6 15.0 13.6 14.3

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

Any apparent inconsistency between the change estimate and the prevalence of use estimates for the two most recent classes is due to

rounding error.

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

Beginning in 1997, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. b

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.

Beginning in 1999, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. d

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

Long-Term Trends in Harmfulness of Drugs as Perceived by Twelfth Graders

Q.

How much do you think people

risk harming themselves

(physically or in other ways),

if they . . . 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

Percentage saying “great risk”a

12th Grade

Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class

of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of ’99–’00

Try marijuana once or twice 15.1 11.4 9.5 8.1 9.4 10.0 13.0 11.5 12.7 14.7 14.8 15.1 18.4 19.0 23.6 23.1 27.1 24.5 21.9 19.5 16.3 15.6 14.9 16.7 15.7 13.7 -1.9

Smoke marijuana occasionally 18.1 15.0 13.4 12.4 13.5 14.7 19.1 18.3 20.6 22.6 24.5 25.0 30.4 31.7 36.5 36.9 40.6 39.6 35.6 30.1 25.6 25.9 24.7 24.4 23.9 23.4 -0.4

Smoke marijuana regularly 43.3 38.6 36.4 34.9 42.0 50.4 57.6 60.4 62.8 66.9 70.4 71.3 73.5 77.0 77.5 77.8 78.6 76.5 72.5 65.0 60.8 59.9 58.1 58.5 57.4 58.3 +0.9

Try LSD once or twice 49.4 45.7 43.2 42.7 41.6 43.9 45.5 44.9 44.7 45.4 43.5 42.0 44.9 45.7 46.0 44.7 46.6 42.3 39.5 38.8 36.4 36.2 34.7 37.4 34.9 34.3 -0.7

Take LSD regularly 81.4 80.8 79.1 81.1 82.4 83.0 83.5 83.5 83.2 83.8 82.9 82.6 83.8 84.2 84.3 84.5 84.3 81.8 79.4 79.1 78.1 77.8 76.6 76.5 76.1 75.9 -0.2

Try PCP once or twice — — — — — — — — — — — — 55.6 58.8 56.6 55.2 51.7 54.8 50.8 51.5 49.1 51.0 48.8 46.8 44.8 45.0 +0.1

Try MDMA once or twice — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 33.8 34.5 35.0 37.9 +2.9

Try cocaine once or twice 42.6 39.1 35.6 33.2 31.5 31.3 32.1 32.8 33.0 35.7 34.0 33.5 47.9 51.2 54.9 59.4 59.4 56.8 57.6 57.2 53.7 54.2 53.6 54.6 52.1 51.1 -1.0

Take cocaine occasionally — — — — — — — — — — — 54.2 66.8 69.2 71.8 73.9 75.5 75.1 73.3 73.7 70.8 72.1 72.4 70.1 70.1 69.5 -0.6

Take cocaine regularly 73.1 72.3 68.2 68.2 69.5 69.2 71.2 73.0 74.3 78.8 79.0 82.2 88.5 89.2 90.2 91.1 90.4 90.2 90.1 89.3 87.9 88.3 87.1 86.3 85.8 86.2 +0.4

Try crack once or twice — — — — — — — — — — — — 57.0 62.1 62.9 64.3 60.6 62.4 57.6 58.4 54.6 56.0 54.0 52.2 48.2 48.4 +0.2

Take crack occasionally — — — — — — — — — — — — 70.4 73.2 75.3 80.4 76.5 76.3 73.9 73.8 72.8 71.4 70.3 68.7 67.3 65.8 -1.5

Take crack regularly — — — — — — — — — — — — 84.6 84.8 85.6 91.6 90.1 89.3 87.5 89.6 88.6 88.0 86.2 85.3 85.4 85.3 0.0

Try cocaine powder once or

 twice — — — — — — — — — — — — 45.3 51.7 53.8 53.9 53.6 57.1 53.2 55.4 52.0 53.2 51.4 48.5 46.1 47.0 +0.9

Take cocaine powder

 occasionally — — — — — — — — — — — — 56.8 61.9 65.8 71.1 69.8 70.8 68.6 70.6 69.1 68.8 67.7 65.4 64.2 64.7 +0.5

Take cocaine powder regularly — — — — — — — — — — — — 81.4 82.9 83.9 90.2 88.9 88.4 87.0 88.6 87.8 86.8 86.0 84.1 84.6 85.5 +0.9

Try heroin once or twice 60.1 58.9 55.8 52.9 50.4 52.1 52.9 51.1 50.8 49.8 47.3 45.8 53.6 54.0 53.8 55.4 55.2 50.9 50.7 52.8 50.9 52.5 56.7 57.8 56.0 54.2 -1.7

Take heroin occasionally 75.6 75.6 71.9 71.4 70.9 70.9 72.2 69.8 71.8 70.7 69.8 68.2 74.6 73.8 75.5 76.6 74.9 74.2 72.0 72.1 71.0 74.8 76.3 76.9 77.3 74.6 -2.8

Take heroin regularly 87.2 88.6 86.1 86.6 87.5 86.2 87.5 86.0 86.1 87.2 86.0 87.1 88.7 88.8 89.5 90.2 89.6 89.2 88.3 88.0 87.2 89.5 88.9 89.1 89.9 89.2 -0.7

Try heroin once or twice

 without using a needle — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 55.6 58.6 60.5 59.6 58.5 61.6 +3.1

Take heroin occasionally

 without using a needle — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 71.2 71.0 74.3 73.4 73.6 74.7 +1.1

Try amphetamines once or

 twice 35.4 33.4 30.8 29.9 29.7 29.7 26.4 25.3 24.7 25.4 25.2 25.1 29.1 29.6 32.8 32.2 36.3 32.6 31.3 31.4 28.8 30.8 31.0 35.3 32.2 32.6 +0.4

Take amphetamines regularly 69.0 67.3 66.6 67.1 69.9 69.1 66.1 64.7 64.8 67.1 67.2 67.3 69.4 69.8 71.2 71.2 74.1 72.4 69.9 67.0 65.9 66.8 66.0 67.7 66.4 66.3 -0.1

Try crystal meth. (ice) once or

 twice — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 61.6 61.9 57.5 58.3 54.4 55.3 54.4 52.7 51.2 51.3 +0.1

Try barbiturates once or twice 34.8 32.5 31.2 31.3 30.7 30.9 28.4 27.5 27.0 27.4 26.1 25.4 30.9 29.7 32.2 32.4 35.1 32.2 29.2 29.9 26.3 29.1 26.9 29.0 26.1 25.0 -1.1

Take barbiturates regularly 69.1 67.7 68.6 68.4 71.6 72.2 69.9 67.6 67.7 68.5 68.3 67.2 69.4 69.6 70.5 70.2 70.5 70.2 66.1 63.3 61.6 60.4 56.8 56.3 54.1 52.3 -1.7

Try one or two drinks of an

 alcoholic beverage (beer, wine,

 liquor) 5.3 4.8 4.1 3.4 4.1 3.8 4.6 3.5 4.2 4.6 5.0 4.6 6.2 6.0 6.0 8.3 9.1 8.6 8.2 7.6 5.9 7.3 6.7 8.0 8.3 6.4 -1.9s

Take one or two drinks nearly

 every day 21.5 21.2 18.5 19.6 22.6 20.3 21.6 21.6 21.6 23.0 24.4 25.1 26.2 27.3 28.5 31.3 32.7 30.6 28.2 27.0 24.8 25.1 24.8 24.3 21.8 21.7 -0.1

Take four or five drinks nearly

 every day 63.5 61.0 62.9 63.1 66.2 65.7 64.5 65.5 66.8 68.4 69.8 66.5 69.7 68.5 69.8 70.9 69.5 70.5 67.8 66.2 62.8 65.6 63.0 62.1 61.1 59.9 -1.2

Have five or more drinks once

 or twice each weekend 37.8 37.0 34.7 34.5 34.9 35.9 36.3 36.0 38.6 41.7 43.0 39.1 41.9 42.6 44.0 47.1 48.6 49.0 48.3 46.5 45.2 49.5 43.0 42.8 43.1 42.7 -0.4

Smoke one or more packs of

 cigarettes per day 51.3 56.4 58.4 59.0 63.0 63.7 63.3 60.5 61.2 63.8 66.5 66.0 68.6 68.0 67.2 68.2 69.4 69.2 69.5 67.6 65.6 68.2 68.7 70.8 70.8 73.1 +2.3

Use smokeless tobacco

 regularly — — — — — — — — — — — 25.8 30.0 33.2 32.9 34.2 37.4 35.5 38.9 36.6 33.2 37.4 38.6 40.9 41.1 42.2 +1.1

Take steroids — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 63.8 69.9 65.6 70.7 69.1 66.1 66.4 67.6 67.2 68.1 62.1 57.9 -4.3s

Approx. N = 2804 2918 3052 3770 3250 3234 3604 3557 3305 3262 3250 3020 3315 3276 2796 2553 2549 2684 2759 2591 2603 2449 2579 2564 2306 2130

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

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

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
TABLE 6

Trends in Disapproval of Drug Use by Eighth and Tenth Graders, 1991–2000

Percentage who “disapprove” or “strongly disapprove”a

8th Grade 10th Grade

Do you disapprove of people

who . . . 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

’99–’00 ’99–’00

Try marijuana once or twice 84.6 82.1 79.2 72.9 70.7 67.5 67.6 69.0 70.7 72.5 +1.8s 74.6 74.8 70.3 62.4 59.8 55.5 54.1 56.0 56.2 54.9 -1.3

Smoke marijuana occasionally 89.5 88.1 85.7 80.9 79.7 76.5 78.1 78.4 79.3 80.6 +1.3 83.7 83.6 79.4 72.3 70.0 66.9 66.2 67.3 68.2 67.2 -1.0

Smoke marijuana regularly 92.1 90.8 88.9 85.3 85.1 82.8 84.6 84.5 84.5 85.3 +0.8 90.4 90.0 87.4 82.2 81.1 79.7 79.7 80.1 79.8 79.1 -0.8

Try inhalants once or twice 84.9 84.0 82.5 81.6 81.8 82.9 84.1 83.0 85.2 85.4 +0.2 85.2 85.6 84.8 84.9 84.5 86.0 86.9 85.6 88.4 87.5 -0.9 b

Take inhalants regularly 90.6 90.0 88.9 88.1 88.8 89.3 90.3 89.5 90.3 90.2 -0.1 91.0 91.5 90.9 91.0 90.9 91.7 91.7 91.1 92.4 91.8 -0.6 b

Try LSD once or twice — — 77.1 75.2 71.6 70.9 72.1 69.1 69.4 66.7 -2.8 — — 82.1 79.3 77.9 76.8 76.6 76.7 77.8 77.0 -0.8 c

Take LSD regularly — — 79.8 78.4 75.8 75.3 76.3 72.5 72.5 69.3 -3.2s — — 86.8 85.6 84.8 84.5 83.4 82.9 84.3 82.1 -2.3 c

Try crack once or twice 91.7 90.7 89.1 86.9 85.9 85.0 85.7 85.4 86.0 85.4 -0.6 92.5 92.5 91.4 89.9 88.7 88.2 87.4 87.1 87.8 87.1 -0.7 b

Take crack occasionally 93.3 92.5 91.7 89.9 89.8 89.3 90.3 89.5 89.9 88.8 -1.1 94.3 94.4 93.6 92.5 91.7 91.9 91.0 90.6 91.5 90.9 -0.6 b

Try cocaine powder once or

 twice 91.2 89.6 88.5 86.1 85.3 83.9 85.1 84.5 85.2 84.8 -0.4 90.8 91.1 90.0 88.1 86.8 86.1 85.1 84.9 86.0 84.8 -1.2 b

Take cocaine powder

 occasionally 93.1 92.4 91.6 89.7 89.7 88.7 90.1 89.3 89.9 88.8 -1.0 94.0 94.0 93.2 92.1 91.4 91.1 90.4 89.7 90.7 89.9 -0.8 b

Try heroin once or twice

 without using a needle — — — — 85.8 85.0 87.7 87.3 88.0 87.2 -0.8 — — — — 89.7 89.5 89.1 88.6 90.1 90.1 +0.1 c

Take heroin occasionally

 without using a needle — — — — 88.5 87.7 90.1 89.7 90.2 88.9 -1.2 — — — — 91.6 91.7 91.4 90.5 91.8 92.3 +0.5 c

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 48.7 +0.4 37.6 39.9 38.5 36.5 36.1 34.2 33.7 34.7 35.1 33.4 -1.7

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 77.8 +0.8 81.7 81.7 78.6 75.2 75.4 73.8 75.4 74.6 75.4 73.8 -1.6

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 81.2 +0.9 76.7 77.6 74.7 72.3 72.2 70.7 70.2 70.5 69.9 68.2 -1.7

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 81.9 +0.5 79.4 77.8 76.5 73.9 73.2 71.6 73.8 75.3 76.1 76.7 +0.6 d

Use smokeless tobacco

 regularly 79.1 77.2 77.1 75.1 74.0 74.1 76.5 76.3 78.0 79.2 +1.1 75.4 74.6 73.8 71.2 71.0 71.0 72.3 73.2 75.1 75.8 +0.7

Take steroidse89.8 90.3 89.9 87.9 — — — — — — — 90.0 91.0 91.2 90.8 — — — — — — —

Approx. N (in thousands) = 17.4 18.5 18.4 17.4 17.6 18.0 18.8 18.1 16.7 16.7 14.8 14.8 15.3 15.9 17.0 15.7 15.6 15.0 13.6 14.3

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

Any apparent inconsistency between the change estimate and the prevalence of use estimates for the two most recent classes is due to

rounding error.

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

Answer alternatives were: (1) Don’t disapprove, (2) Disapprove, and (3) Strongly disapprove, and (4) Can’t say, drug unfamiliar. a

Beginning in 1997, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. b

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.

Beginning in 1999, data based on two-thirds of N indicated due to changes in questionnaire forms. d

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. e
TABLE 7

Long-Term Trends in Disapproval of Drug Use by Twelfth Graders

Q.

Do you disapprove of people

(who are 18 or older) doing

each of the following? 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change a

Percentage “disapproving”b

12th Grade

Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class

of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of ’99–’00

Try marijuana once or twice 47.0 38.4 33.4 33.4 34.2 39.0 40.0 45.5 46.3 49.3 51.4 54.6 56.6 60.8 64.6 67.8 68.7 69.9 63.3 57.6 56.7 52.5 51.0 51.6 48.8 52.5 +3.8s

Smoke marijuana occasionally 54.8 47.8 44.3 43.5 45.3 49.7 52.6 59.1 60.7 63.5 65.8 69.0 71.6 74.0 77.2 80.5 79.4 79.7 75.5 68.9 66.7 62.9 63.2 64.4 62.5 65.8 +3.4

Smoke marijuana regularly 71.9 69.5 65.5 67.5 69.2 74.6 77.4 80.6 82.5 84.7 85.5 86.6 89.2 89.3 89.8 91.0 89.3 90.1 87.6 82.3 81.9 80.0 78.8 81.2 78.6 79.7 +1.1

Try LSD once or twice 82.8 84.6 83.9 85.4 86.6 87.3 86.4 88.8 89.1 88.9 89.5 89.2 91.6 89.8 89.7 89.8 90.1 88.1 85.9 82.5 81.1 79.6 80.5 82.1 83.0 82.4 -0.5

Take LSD regularly 94.1 95.3 95.8 96.4 96.9 96.7 96.8 96.7 97.0 96.8 97.0 96.6 97.8 96.4 96.4 96.3 96.4 95.5 95.8 94.3 92.5 93.2 92.9 93.5 94.3 94.2 -0.1

Try MDMA once or twice — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 82.2 82.5 82.1 81.0 -1.2

Try cocaine once or twice 81.3 82.4 79.1 77.0 74.7 76.3 74.6 76.6 77.0 79.7 79.3 80.2 87.3 89.1 90.5 91.5 93.6 93.0 92.7 91.6 90.3 90.0 88.0 89.5 89.1 88.2 -0.9

Take cocaine regularly 93.3 93.9 92.1 91.9 90.8 91.1 90.7 91.5 93.2 94.5 93.8 94.3 96.7 96.2 96.4 96.7 97.3 96.9 97.5 96.6 96.1 95.6 96.0 95.6 94.9 95.5 +0.5

Try crack once or twice — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 92.3 92.1 93.1 89.9 89.5 91.4 87.4 87.0 86.7 87.6 87.5 -0.1

Take crack occasionally — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 94.3 94.2 95.0 92.8 92.8 94.0 91.2 91.3 90.9 92.3 91.9 -0.4

Take crack regularly — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 94.9 95.0 95.5 93.4 93.1 94.1 93.0 92.3 91.9 93.2 92.8 -0.4

Try cocaine powder once or

 twice — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 87.9 88.0 89.4 86.6 87.1 88.3 83.1 83.0 83.1 84.3 84.1 -0.2

Take cocaine powder

 occasionally — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 92.1 93.0 93.4 91.2 91.0 92.7 89.7 89.3 88.7 90.0 90.3 +0.3

Take cocaine powder regularly — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 93.7 94.4 94.3 93.0 92.5 93.8 92.9 91.5 91.1 92.3 92.6 +0.3

Try heroin once or twice 91.5 92.6 92.5 92.0 93.4 93.5 93.5 94.6 94.3 94.0 94.0 93.3 96.2 95.0 95.4 95.1 96.0 94.9 94.4 93.2 92.8 92.1 92.3 93.7 93.5 93.0 -0.5

Take heroin occasionally 94.8 96.0 96.0 96.4 96.8 96.7 97.2 96.9 96.9 97.1 96.8 96.6 97.9 96.9 97.2 96.7 97.3 96.8 97.0 96.2 95.7 95.0 95.4 96.1 95.7 96.0 +0.3

Take heroin regularly 96.7 97.5 97.2 97.8 97.9 97.6 97.8 97.5 97.7 98.0 97.6 97.6 98.1 97.2 97.4 97.5 97.8 97.2 97.5 97.1 96.4 96.3 96.4 96.6 96.4 96.6 +0.3

Try heroin once or twice

 without using a needle — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 92.9 90.8 92.3 93.0 92.6 94.0 +1.4

Take heroin occasionally

 without using a needle — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 94.7 93.2 94.4 94.3 93.8 95.2 +1.4

Try amphetamines once or

 twice 74.8 75.1 74.2 74.8 75.1 75.4 71.1 72.6 72.3 72.8 74.9 76.5 80.7 82.5 83.3 85.3 86.5 86.9 84.2 81.3 82.2 79.9 81.3 82.5 81.9 82.1 +0.2

Take amphetamines regularly 92.1 92.8 92.5 93.5 94.4 93.0 91.7 92.0 92.6 93.6 93.3 93.5 95.4 94.2 94.2 95.5 96.0 95.6 96.0 94.1 94.3 93.5 94.3 94.0 93.7 94.1 +0.4

Try barbiturates once or twice 77.7 81.3 81.1 82.4 84.0 83.9 82.4 84.4 83.1 84.1 84.9 86.8 89.6 89.4 89.3 90.5 90.6 90.3 89.7 87.5 87.3 84.9 86.4 86.0 86.6 85.9 -0.7

Take barbiturates regularly 93.3 93.6 93.0 94.3 95.2 95.4 94.2 94.4 95.1 95.1 95.5 94.9 96.4 95.3 95.3 96.4 97.1 96.5 97.0 96.1 95.2 94.8 95.3 94.6 94.7 95.2 +0.6

Try one or two drinks of an

 alcoholic beverage (beer, wine,

 liquor) 21.6 18.2 15.6 15.6 15.8 16.0 17.2 18.2 18.4 17.4 20.3 20.9 21.4 22.6 27.3 29.4 29.8 33.0 30.1 28.4 27.3 26.5 26.1 24.5 24.6 25.2 +0.6

Take one or two drinks nearly

 every day 67.6 68.9 66.8 67.7 68.3 69.0 69.1 69.9 68.9 72.9 70.9 72.8 74.2 75.0 76.5 77.9 76.5 75.9 77.8 73.1 73.3 70.8 70.0 69.4 67.2 70.0 +2.8

Take four or five drinks nearly

 every day 88.7 90.7 88.4 90.2 91.7 90.8 91.8 90.9 90.0 91.0 92.0 91.4 92.2 92.8 91.6 91.9 90.6 90.8 90.6 89.8 88.8 89.4 88.6 86.7 86.9 88.4 +1.5

Have five or more drinks once

 or twice each weekend 60.3 58.6 57.4 56.2 56.7 55.6 55.5 58.8 56.6 59.6 60.4 62.4 62.0 65.3 66.5 68.9 67.4 70.7 70.1 65.1 66.7 64.7 65.0 63.8 62.7 65.2 +2.5

Smoke one or more packs of

 cigarettes per day 67.5 65.9 66.4 67.0 70.3 70.8 69.9 69.4 70.8 73.0 72.3 75.4 74.3 73.1 72.4 72.8 71.4 73.5 70.6 69.8 68.2 67.2 67.1 68.8 69.5 70.1 +0.6

Take steroids — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 90.8 90.5 92.1 92.1 91.9 91.0 91.7 91.4 90.8 88.9 88.8 -0.1

Approx. N = 2677 2957 3085 3686 3221 3261 3610 3651 3341 3254 3265 3113 3302 3311 2799 2566 2547 2645 2723 2588 2603 2399 2601 2545 2310 2150

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

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

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

The 1975 question asked about people who are “20 or older.” a

Answer alternatives were: (1) Don’t disapprove, (2) Disapprove, and (3) Strongly disapprove. Percentages are shown for categories (2) and (3) combined. b
Answer alternatives were: (1) Probably impossible, (2) Very difficult, (3) Fairly difficult, (4) Fairly easy, (5) Very easy, and (6) Can’t say, drug unfamiliar. a

Beginning in 1993, data based on half of forms; N is one-half of N indicated. b

TABLE 8

Trends in Perceived Availability of Drugs by Eighth and Tenth Graders, 1992–2000

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

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

’99–’00 ’99–’00

Marijuana 42.3 43.8 49.9 52.4 54.8 54.2 50.6 48.4 47.0 -1.5 65.2 68.4 75.0 78.1 81.1 80.5 77.9 78.2 77.7 -0.6

LSD 21.5 21.8 21.8 23.5 23.6 22.7 19.3 18.3 17.0 -1.3 33.6 35.8 36.1 39.8 41.0 38.3 34.0 34.3 32.9 -1.3

PCP 18.0 18.5 17.7 19.0 19.6 19.2 17.5 17.1 16.0 -1.2 23.7 23.4 23.8 24.7 26.8 24.8 23.9 24.5 25.0 +0.5 b

Crack 25.6 25.9 26.9 28.7 27.9 27.5 26.5 25.9 24.9 -1.0 33.7 33.0 34.2 34.6 36.4 36.0 36.3 36.5 34.0 -2.4s

Cocaine powder 25.7 25.9 26.4 27.8 27.2 26.9 25.7 25.0 23.9 -1.1 35.0 34.1 34.5 35.3 36.9 37.1 36.8 36.7 34.5 -2.2s

Heroin 19.7 19.8 19.4 21.1 20.6 19.8 18.0 17.5 16.5 -1.0 24.3 24.3 24.7 24.6 24.8 24.4 23.0 23.7 22.3 -1.5

Other narcotics 19.8 19.0 18.3 20.3 20.0 20.6 17.1 16.2 15.6 -0.6 26.9 24.9 26.9 27.8 29.4 29.0 26.1 26.6 27.2 +0.6 b

Amphetamines 32.2 31.4 31.0 33.4 32.6 30.6 27.3 25.9 25.5 -0.4 43.4 46.4 46.6 47.7 47.2 44.6 41.0 41.3 40.9 -0.5

Crystal meth. (ice) 16.0 15.1 14.1 16.0 16.3 15.7 16.0 14.7 14.9 +0.2 18.8 16.4 17.8 20.7 22.6 22.9 22.1 21.8 22.8 +0.9 b

Barbiturates 27.4 26.1 25.3 26.5 25.6 24.4 21.1 20.8 19.7 -1.0 38.0 38.8 38.3 38.8 38.1 35.6 32.7 33.2 32.4 -0.8

Tranquilizers 22.9 21.4 20.4 21.3 20.4 19.6 18.1 17.3 16.2 -1.1 31.6 30.5 29.8 30.6 30.3 28.7 26.5 26.8 27.6 +0.8

Alcohol 76.2 73.9 74.5 74.9 75.3 74.9 73.1 72.3 70.6 -1.8s 88.6 88.9 89.8 89.7 90.4 89.0 88.0 88.2 87.7 -0.5

Cigarettes 77.8 75.5 76.1 76.4 76.9 76.0 73.6 71.5 68.7 -2.8sss 89.1 89.4 90.3 90.7 91.3 89.6 88.1 88.3 86.8 -1.5s

Steroids 24.0 22.7 23.1 23.8 24.1 23.6 22.3 22.6 22.3 -0.3 37.6 33.6 33.6 34.8 34.8 34.2 33.0 35.9 35.4 -0.5

Approx. N = 8355 16775 16119 15496 16318 16482 16208 15397 15180 7014 14652 15192 16209 14887 14856 14423 13112 13690

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

Any apparent inconsistency between the change estimate and the prevalence of use estimates for the two most recent classes is due to

rounding error.

SOURCE: The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan.
TABLE 9

Long-Term Trends in Perceived Availability of Drugs by Twelfth Graders

How difficult do

you think it would

be for you to get

each of the following types of drugs,

if you wanted

some? 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 change

Percent saying “fairly easy” or “very easy” to geta

12th Grade

Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class Class

of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of ’99–’00

Marijuana 87.8 87.4 87.9 87.8 90.1 89.0 89.2 88.5 86.2 84.6 85.5 85.2 84.8 85.0 84.3 84.4 83.3 82.7 83.0 85.5 88.5 88.7 89.6 90.4 88.9 88.5 -0.4

Amyl/butyl — — — — — — — — — — — — 23.9 25.9 26.8 24.4 22.7 25.9 25.9 26.7 26.0 23.9 23.8 25.1 21.4 23.3 +1.9

LSD 46.2 37.4 34.5 32.2 34.2 35.3 35.0 34.2 30.9 30.6 30.5 28.5 31.4 33.3 38.3 40.7 39.5 44.5 49.2 50.8 53.8 51.3 50.7 48.8 44.7 46.9 +2.2

Some other

 psychedelic 47.8 35.7 33.8 33.8 34.6 35.0 32.7 30.6 26.6 26.6 26.1 24.9 25.0 26.2 28.2 28.3 28.0 29.9 33.5 33.8 35.8 33.9 33.9 35.1 29.5 34.5 +5.0ss

PCP — — — — — — — — — — — — 22.8 24.9 28.9 27.7 27.6 31.7 31.7 31.4 31.0 30.5 30.0 30.7 26.7 28.8 +2.1

MDMA (Ecstasy) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 21.7 22.0 22.1 24.2 28.1 31.2 34.2 36.9 38.8 38.2 40.1 51.4 +11.3sss

Cocaine 37.0 34.0 33.0 37.8 45.5 47.9 47.5 47.4 43.1 45.0 48.9 51.5 54.2 55.0 58.7 54.5 51.0 52.7 48.5 46.6 47.7 48.1 48.5 51.3 47.6 47.8 +0.3

Crack — — — — — — — — — — — — 41.1 42.1 47.0 42.4 39.9 43.5 43.6 40.5 41.9 40.7 40.6 43.8 41.1 42.6 +1.5

Cocaine powder — — — — — — — — — — — — 52.9 50.3 53.7 49.0 46.0 48.0 45.4 43.7 43.8 44.4 43.3 45.7 43.7 44.6 +0.9

Heroin 24.2 18.4 17.9 16.4 18.9 21.2 19.2 20.8 19.3 19.9 21.0 22.0 23.7 28.0 31.4 31.9 30.6 34.9 33.7 34.1 35.1 32.2 33.8 35.6 32.1 33.5 +1.4

Some other nar-

 cotic (including

 methadone) 34.5 26.9 27.8 26.1 28.7 29.4 29.6 30.4 30.0 32.1 33.1 32.2 33.0 35.8 38.3 38.1 34.6 37.1 37.5 38.0 39.8 40.0 38.9 42.8 40.8 43.9 +3.1

Amphetamines 67.8 61.8 58.1 58.5 59.9 61.3 69.5 70.8 68.5 68.2 66.4 64.3 64.5 63.9 64.3 59.7 57.3 58.8 61.5 62.0 62.8 59.4 59.8 60.8 58.1 57.1 -1.0

Crystal meth. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 24.1 24.3 26.0 26.6 25.6 27.0 26.9 27.6 29.8 27.6 27.8 +0.1

Barbiturates 60.0 54.4 52.4 50.6 49.8 49.1 54.9 55.2 52.5 51.9 51.3 48.3 48.2 47.8 48.4 45.9 42.4 44.0 44.5 43.3 42.3 41.4 40.0 40.7 37.9 37.4 -0.5

Tranquilizers 71.8 65.5 64.9 64.3 61.4 59.1 60.8 58.9 55.3 54.5 54.7 51.2 48.6 49.1 45.3 44.7 40.8 40.9 41.1 39.2 37.8 36.0 35.4 36.2 32.7 33.8 +1.1

Alcohol — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 95.0 94.8 -0.2

Steroids — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 46.7 46.8 44.8 42.9 45.5 40.3 41.7 44.5 44.6 44.8 +0.2

Approx. N = 2627 2865 3065 3598 3172 3240 3578 3602 3385 3269 3274 3077 3271 3231 2806 2549 2476 2586 2670 2526 2552 2340 2517 2520 2215 2095

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

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

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. a
National Institute on Drug Abuse

NIH Publication No. 00-4690

Printed 2000