2011 Monitoring the Future Survey Finds Marijuana Use Continues to Rise Among Youth; Smoking and Alcohol Use at Historic Lows

The 2011 Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, released on Wednesday by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan, showed a continued increase in marijuana use rates among all grades measured in the survey – 8th, 10th and 12th graders. In fact, the annual prevalence rates among 8th graders during the past two years are higher than any time since 2003. Also concerning is that the rate of daily marijuana use rose among all three grades, with 1.3 percent of 8th graders, 3.6 percent of 10th graders and 6.6 percent of 12th graders reporting that they smoked marijuana on a daily basis. Among high school seniors, the daily use rate is now at a 30-year-peak level.

Not only was marijuana use at greater levels among youth, but attitudes toward drug use, which are often considered indicators of future use, have softened with fewer youth reporting that they see a risk of harm in smoking marijuana. For example, only 22.7 percent of high school seniors saw great risk in smoking marijuana occasionally, compared to nearly 26 percent five years ago.

The survey also measured, for the first time, the use of synthetic marijuana, also known as K2 or spice. Among 12th graders, 11.4 percent reported using synthetic marijuana in the past year.

During the press conference in Washington, D.C., NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow said the rates of synthetic drug use were surprisingly high. “This highlights the need for us to do interventions not just about the adverse effects of marijuana but also for synthetic cannabinoids,” she told the audience.

The good news in the survey was that cigarette and alcohol use continued to decline and is now at their lowest point since the inception of the Monitoring the Future survey in 1975. The proportion saying they smoked tobacco at all in the past 30 days fell significantly among all three grades combined, falling from 12.8 percent in 2010 to 11.7 percent this year. In addition, all three grades showed declines in alcohol use, with the annual prevalence rate of alcohol use falling from 29.3 percent to 26.9 percent among 8th graders, 52.1 to 49.8 among 10th graders and 65.2 to 63.5 among 12 graders.

“The historically low levels of use for alcohol and tobacco are a huge prevention success. These data show that when our nation systematically and comprehensively invests the resources to reduce access and availability as well as works to change norms and perceptions we can achieve major reductions in youth use rates. However, our nation needs to focus much more attention and resources on effective prevention strategies to reduce marijuana use and abuse,” said CADCA Chairman and CEO General Arthur T. Dean.

After marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter medications account for most of the top drugs abused by 12th graders in the past year. Prescription painkillers such as OxyContin as well as amphetamines such as Ritalin continue to remain at high levels. However, the past year nonmedical use of Vicodin declined significantly among 10th graders from 7.7 percent in 2010 to 5.9 percent in 2011. The annual prevalence rate of the abuse of over-the-counter cough medicines containing the ingredient Dextromethorphan also decreased, falling from 6.6 percent to 5.3 percent among 12th graders and 3.2 percent to 2.7 percent among 8th graders.

To learn more about the 2011 Monitoring the Future findings, visit: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/MTF.html.