For the 2023 survey, 48% of students identified as male, 47% identified as female, 1% identified as other, and 4% selected the “prefer not to answer” option. This difference in location between survey respondents is a limitation of the survey, as students who took the survey at home may not have had the same privacy or may not have felt as comfortable truthfully reporting substance use as they would at school, when they are away from their parents. In addition, students with less engagement in school – a known risk factor for drug use – may have been less likely to participate in the survey, whether in-person or online. The Monitoring the Future investigators did see a slight drop in response rate across all age groups, indicating that a small segment of typical respondents may have been absent this year. So, even if teens do not use drugs, it is clear that they are readily available, either at school or by some other means.
The percentage of adolescents reporting substance use in 2022 largely held steady after declining significantly in 2021, according to the latest results from Monitoring the Future, a survey of substance use behaviors and related attitudes among eighth, 10th and 12th graders nationwide. First, analyses included 32 to 47 jurisdictions; results might not teen drug abuse be generalizable to the entire United States or to other jurisdictions. Second, toxicology testing might differ over time and across jurisdictions; thus, emerging drugs, including new IMFs, might not have been identified. Finally, circumstances surrounding overdose deaths are likely underascertained because of limited investigative information.
Does My Teenager Need Rehab?
It appears that the rise in deaths was fueled not by greater numbers of teens using drugs – substance use in this age group actually went down during the pandemic – but by use of dangerous and highly potent forms of fentanyl. The study found that fentanyl-related deaths increased from 253 in 2019 to 680 the following year. It also found that nicotine vaping in high school seniors declined during the pandemic, along with declines in perceived availability of vaping devices at this time. These results challenge the idea that reducing adolescent use of drugs can be achieved solely by limiting their supply.
In line with continued long-term declines in the use of many illicit substances among adolescents previously reported by the Monitoring the Future survey, these findings represent the largest one-year decrease in overall illicit drug use reported since the survey began in 1975. The Monitoring the Future survey is conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Illinois, Missouri, and Washington reported deaths from counties that accounted for ≥75% of drug overdose deaths in the state in 2017 per SUDORS funding requirements; all other jurisdictions reported deaths from the full jurisdiction.
Reported drug use among adolescents continued to hold below pre-pandemic levels in 2023
And it is also clear that teen drug use, while declining in some areas, is rising as far as marijuana use is concerned. The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.
Teenagers in Nevada are 22.98% more likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen. Teenagers in Nebraska are 1.89% less likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen. Teenagers in Montana are 39.58% more likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen.
What are study drugs?
There’s a chance that even with all the education and support you offer them, a kid may try drugs or alcohol. Addiction has had the reigns for too long — take the power back by getting your child the help that they need. Reach out today to speak on the phone with one of our compassionate treatment advisors, who can help you sort out the situation and decide on the best actions to take. The number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) emerging on the global market fell from 163 in 2013 to 71 in 2019.
- During July 2019–December 2021, a total of 1,808 adolescent overdose deaths occurred in 32 jurisdictions with available trend data.
- References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. - Teenagers in North Carolina are 2.23% less likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen.
- The survey also asks respondents to identify as male, female, other, or prefer not to answer.
- All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.