Press release

Tuesday, December 17, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has not changed the use of many substances, according to new NIH-funded data.

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According to the results of the Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institutes of Health, after a significant decline during the COVID-19 outbreak, adolescent drug use has remained stable at lower levels for the fourth consecutive year. The latest data show that the majority of drugs are being used by young people, in a stable and declining trend.

Nora D. Volkow, MD, is director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the NIH. We need to investigate the factors that have contributed to this reduction in drug abuse risk in order to tailor interventions to address this continuing trend.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak and associated changes, such as school closures and social distancing, reported use of nearly all substances measured declined significantly between 2020 and 2021. Most reported adolescent substance use remained at the same levels in 2022 and 2023. Similar trends were observed in 2024, with some reductions.

Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor conduct the NIDA-funded Monitoring the Future survey. Eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students are asked to self-report their drug use over time periods such as 30 days ago, 12 months ago, or over their lifetime. Students’ views on harm, drug availability, and disapproval are also documented in the survey. Survey results are released the same year the data are collected. Monitoring the Future collected 24,257 student surveys between February and June 2024 at 272 private and public schools across the United States.

The survey found that when data was broken down by drug, adolescents reported using alcohol, nicotine vaping and cannabis most frequently in the 12-month period prior to the study. Levels have generally decreased or remained the same, with the lowest use reported in recent years. Data reported for 2024 show:

  • Alcohol consumption The number of eighth-grade students reporting marijuana use in the past 12 months remained stable at 12.9 %. Other classes also showed a decline in alcohol consumption. French 26.1 % reported drinking alcohol in the past 12 months, down from 30.6 % in 2023. And 41.7 % reported drinking alcohol in the past 12 months, down from 45.7 % in 2023.
  • Nicotine vaping It remained constant for eighth and twelfth graders, where 9.6% reported vaping nicotine in the past 12 months. The number of tenth graders reporting vaping nicotine in the past 12 months decreased.
  • Nicotine sachet It remained the same for eighth graders, who reported 0.6 % of their past 12-month use. Use of nicotine pouches increased in older grades, with 3.4 % (tenth graders) reporting past 12-month use compared to just 1.9 % (in 2023), and 5.9 % (twelve-year students) reporting past 12-month use.
  • Cannabis Cannabis use among younger students remained constant, with 7.2 % of eighth-grade students and 15.9 % of tenth-grade students reporting cannabis use in the past 12 months. In the twelfth grade, cannabis use decreased. 25.8 % of twelfth-grade students reported cannabis use in the past 12 months. This is down from 29.0 % in 2013. Note that 5.6 % of eighth-grade students and 11.6 % of tenth-grade students reported cannabis use. cannabis vaping Over the past 12 months, which indicates a consistent trend across all three classes.
  • Delta-8-THC In 2024, use of a psychoactive compound found in Cannabis sativa was measured for the first time among eighth and tenth graders. 2.9 % reported use in the past 12 months and 7.9 % reported use in the past year. Reports of Delta-8 THC use among 12th graders remained constant, with 12.3 % reporting use in the past 12 months.
  • Other illicit drugs than marijuana Eighth-graders reported a decline in drug use, from 4.6 % to 3.4 % in 2023. The other two grade levels remained unchanged, with 6.5 % and 4.4 %, respectively, reporting use of illicit drugs other than marijuana in the past 12 months. The data are based on long-term trends that show a decline in the use of illicit substances among adolescents, including heroin and cocaine.
  • Other narcotics besides heroin, including Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet Only 12th graders report consuming it, which rose to 0.6 % in 2024 (a record high, compared to 9.5 % in 2004).
  • Abstinence, Eighth-grade students reported a stable level of abstinence from marijuana, nicotine, or alcohol in the 30 days preceding the survey. Of those, 89.5 percent reported no use of these substances in the 30 days preceding the survey. Percentages increased in older grades. Of those, 80.2 percent reported abstaining in any way from marijuana, nicotine, or alcohol in the past 30 days, compared with 76.9 percent the previous year and 67.1 percent in 12th grade.

Richard A. Miech Ph.D. is the team leader of the Monitoring the Future study at the University of Michigan. The Monitoring the Future study will adapt to the future as drugs, culture, and the landscape evolve. It has been doing so for 50 years.

The results were collected from a nationally representative sample, and the data were statistically weighted to produce figures for the entire country. In this year’s survey, 35 % of students identified as Hispanic. Of the students who did not identify as Hispanic, 14 % were black or African American, 1 % were American Indian or Alaska Native, 4 % were Asian, 1 % were Middle Eastern, 37 % were white, and 7 % were more than one category. In the survey, respondents are asked whether they identify as female or male. They can also choose not to respond. In the 2024 survey, 47 % identified as male, while 49 % identified as female. 1 % selected “other” and 3 % chose not to answer.

In 2024, 99,133 respondents will complete the survey on-site at the school.

You can also learn more about the following: Data Tables for 2024 Monitoring The Future The University of Michigan released the survey results online.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse: NIDA is part of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA is responsible for the majority of the world's research on substance abuse and its health effects. The Institute has a broad range of programs that aim to improve policy, advance substance abuse research, and inform practice. Visit NIDA's website for more information about its programs and services. www.nida.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health: The NIH is the medical research agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is comprised of 27 institutes and centers. The NIH, the nation's medical research agency, is the primary federal agency that conducts and supports basic, translational, and clinical medical research. It also studies the causes, treatments, and cures of common and rare diseases. Visit the NIH website for more information about its programs. www.nih.gov.

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