In fact, we saw such a pause in the 80s, in the middle of what turned out to be a continuing decline in drug use. The overall proportions reporting any illicit drug use in the prior year peaked among younger teens in 1996 and among older teens in 1997. In general, the usage statistics have been receding since then, at least until 1999. Drugs which showed little change in use this year include marijuana, amphetamines, hallucinogens, tranquilizers, and heroin. The use of inhalants began to turn downward in 1996, following the launching of an ad campaign by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and has been gradually and steadily declining since then.
Inhalants are about the only drugs that are used more by younger teens than by older ones.
The use of nitrite inhalants, specifically, which is only asked of the 12th-graders, declined significantly in 1999. While the rates of crack use in the 90s never attained the peak level of the original crack epidemic in the mid 80s, according to Johnston, the increase in use was still a matter of concern, given the addictive potential of that drug. Also like crack, it can be highly addictive. The proportion of 12th-graders indicating any use of ice in the prior 12 months fell from 3 percent in 1998 to 1.9 percent in 1999. The continuing decline in cigarette smoking among the younger teens was some other favorable news, according to the investigators.