Fiction: Trends in Teen Drug Use Have Not Changed

Fiction: We have not seen any changes in teen drug use.

Fact: We’ve made great progress in reducing illicit drug use levels, particularly teenage drug use.

Ending drug abuse won’t happen overnight—but it’s a worthwhile long-term cause. A combination of education, law enforcement, drug prevention policies, intervention, treatment, media attention, and community anti-drug efforts has worked.

Consider the following:

  • In 2008, the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that teen drug use continued to decline. Between 2002 and 2008, drug among teens declined from 11.6% to 9.3%.1

  • According to the 2009 Monitoring the Future national survey, the teen use of methamphetamine and cocaine continued to decline. Also, fewer teens are abusing Ritalin™, heroin, and crack.2

  • Anabolic steroid use among teens has also gone down, according to the 2009 Monitoring the Future survey. Since the peak years of use in the 2000s, the rate of steroid use has dropped by more than half among 8th graders, by nearly two thirds among 10th graders, and by 40% among 12th grade students.2

However, some teen drug use is not changing. According to the 2009 Monitoring the Future national survey, teen marijuana use is about the same level as five years ago—33% of 12th graders, 27% of 10th graders, and 12% of 8th graders reported using marijuana in the past year.2

Check out more recent findings about drug use among teens.

Source Information

12008 National Survey on Drug Use & Health: National Findings, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, September 2009

2Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2008, December 11). National press release, "Various stimulant drugs show continuing gradual declines among teens in 2008, most illicit drugs hold steady." University of Michigan News Service, Ann Arbor, 67 pp.