II. America's Drug Use Profile
Youth Drug Use: A Problem With Profound Implications
Young Americans are especially vulnerable to drug abuse. Their physical and psychological states of development cause them to be highly susceptible to the ill-effects of drug use not only at the moment of use, but for years to come as well. Moreover, the behavior patterns that result from teen and preteen drug use often result in tragic consequences. The self-degradation, loss of control, and disruptive, antisocial attitudes that young people develop as a result of drug use cause untold harm to themselves and their families.
Drug use among youth rose dramatically from 1992 to 1996. One of the most disturbing trends of the 1990s, reflected by the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, was the increase in use of drugs by youth. From 1991 to 1996, current illicit drug use among 8th graders more than doubled, from 5.7 percent to 14.6 percent. Current illicit drug use among 10th graders also doubled in the same period, from 11.6 percent to 23.2 percent. Current illicit drug use among 12th graders increased by 50 percent, from 16.4 percent to 24.6 percent. Presaging this increase in drug abuse was an erosion in youth disapproval of drug abuse and in the perceived risks of drug abuse by youth. The other main statistical indicator, the NHSDA, also found that drug use among those aged twelve to seventeen doubled from the historic low year of 1992, when only 5.3 percent of those aged twelve to seventeen were current drug users, to 11.4 percent in 1997. This level still remains below the 1979 rate of 14.2 percent.29
Source: 1998 Monitoring the Future Study |
Youth drug use is linked to antisocial behavior and crime. Youth marijuana use has been associated with a wide range of dangerous behavior. Nearly one million youth aged sixteen to eighteen (11 percent of the total) reported driving in the past year at least once within two hours of using an illegal drug (most often marijuana).30 A number of descriptive studies have demonstrated that people who use drugs are more likely to have mental disorders, physical health problems, and family problems.31 In addition, a recent study showed that marijuana use by teenagers who have prior serious antisocial problems can quickly lead to dependence on the drug.32 The correlation between youth use of marijuana and antisocial behavior was dramatically demonstrated by a NHSDA analysis. For youth aged twelve to seventeen, those who smoked marijuana within the past year were more than twice as likely to cut class, steal, attack people, and destroy property than were those who did not smoke marijuana. The more frequently a youth smoked marijuana, the more likely he or she was to engage in these types of antisocial behavior.33 An analysis of Maryland juvenile detainees found that 40 percent were in need of substance abuse treatment. Of this 40 percent, 91 percent needed treatment for marijuana dependence.34
Source: NHSDA Household Survey Data, 1994-1996 |
Source: NHSDA Household Survey Data, 1994-1996 |
1998 Monitoring the Future Survey: A Change for the Better. Starting in 1997, the MTF survey reported a leveling off of youth drug use. In 1998 this survey noted that overall youth drug rates remained flat and, in fact, began to decline in some areas. In 1997, for the first time in six years, the use of marijuana and other illegal drugs did not increase among 8th graders. Nor did it increase in 1998, a year that saw a decrease in use of marijuana and any illicit drug among 10th graders, and stable use among 12th graders.35 Furthermore, attitudes regarding drugs, which are key predictors of use, began to reverse in 1997 after several years of erosion. This disapproval by youth of drugs is likely to increase as social disapproval of drug abuse takes root. The rising drug use trends observed by MTF in the 1990s appears to have ended.
Source: 1998 Monitoring the Future Study |
Source: 1998 Monitoring the Future Study |
Source: 1998 Monitoring the Future Study |
It is interesting to note that the MTF data were gathered in the spring of 1998, prior to the implementation of ONDCP's Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. It is anticipated that the Media Campaign will further increase youth awareness (and thus disapproval of) drugs and drug abuse.
Following are the highlights of the 1998 MTF Study:
- 1998 is the second straight year without significant increases in past month or past year overall use of any illicit drug.
- Marijuana use was significantly lower among 10th graders, with past month use declining from 20.5 percent to 18.7 percent.
- All other drug use either remained statistically unchanged or decreased significantly, except for increases in barbiturate and tranquilizer use among 12th graders and crack use among 8th graders.
- The softening trend in youth attitudes about drug use also appears to be ending, except for LSD. There were significant increases in the perception of harmfulness of marijuana use among 8th graders, from 43.1 percent to 45 percent.
- Based on the last two years of MTF results, we could be at the threshold of a turnaround in the youth drug situation.
Underage use of alcohol. Youth alcohol use strongly correlates with later adult drug use. For example, adults who started drinking as children are nearly eight times more likely to use cocaine than are adults who did not drink as children.36 Alcoholism has profound social and economic costs. In 1992, the total cost to society from alcohol and alcoholism was estimated by the NIAAA at $148 billion.37 Prevention of alcohol use by children is critical if we are to reduce the costs of drug addiction and alcoholism. Seen in this light, the MTF survey gives cause for guarded optimism. Use of alcohol by teenagers is either stable or declining. The 1998 MTF survey reported that alcohol use decreased among 10th graders, remained stable among 8th graders for the past few years, and remained stable more recently among 12th graders, albeit at unacceptably high levels. Lifetime use of alcohol by 10th graders dropped from 72 percent in 1997 to 69.8 percent in 1998. The percentage of 8th graders who reported being drunk in a 30 day period increased from 8.2 percent to 8.4 percent, a statistically insignificant rise. In the same period the percentage of 10th graders who had been drunk declined from 22.4 percent to 21.1 percent, while among 12th graders the percentage decreased from 34.2 percent to 32.9 percent. Data from SAMHSA's FY 1997 State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Profile Data on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant indicate more than 1,200 children under the age of twelve were admitted for treatment for alcohol problems in programs supported by Block Grant funds. While this does not tell us the extent of alcohol consumption for children under the age of 12, it is a reminder that even very young children are consuming alcohol.
Source: 1998 Monitoring the Future Study |
Tax increases on alcohol have been effective at reducing adolescent consumption of alcohol. A study that appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Health Economics finds that increases in alcohol prices, such as the beer tax, actually decrease the amount of marijuana consumed by adolescents, not increase it as was once thought.38 Parents who assume that their children are safe because they are using only alcohol and not marijuana are taking false comfort. The only valid message is that both alcohol and marijuana have their individual dangers.
Underage use of tobacco. Tobacco use is the single leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The younger a person is when he begins smoking, the greater the risk for smoking-attributable disease. The NHSDA estimates that every day more than 6,000 people aged eighteen or younger try their first cigarette, and more than 3,000 people aged eighteen or younger become daily smokers. If these trends continue, approximately five million people now younger than eighteen will die an early preventable death from a smoking-attributable disease. Researchers have also noted a correlation between underage use of tobacco and later use in life of cocaine and heroin.39 As a widely available, legal (albeit regulated and taxed) substance, tobacco is one of the easiest illicit substances of abuse for children to obtain. Given these stakes, prevention of youth use of tobacco is critical. The MTF survey shows that youth use of tobacco has either stabilized or declined. Thirty-day use of cigarettes slightly declined among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from 1997 to 1998; for 8th graders the decline was from 19.4 percent to 19.1 percent, for 10th graders from 29.8 percent to 27.6 percent, and for 12th graders from 36.5 percent to 35.1 percent. Daily use of cigarettes also declined in all grades from 1997 to 1998, though the decline was statistically insignificant among 8th graders. For 8th graders the decline was from 9.0 to 8.8 percent, for 10th graders from 18.0 to 15.8 percent, and for 12th graders from 24.6 to 22.4 percent. Use of smokeless tobacco likewise saw small declines in all three grades. For 8th graders the decline was from 5.5 to 4.8 percent, for 10th graders from 8.9 to 7.5 percent, and for 12th graders from 9.7 to 8.8 percent. Perceived availability of alcohol decreased among 8th graders, and perceived availability of cigarettes decreased among both 8thand 10th graders.
Source: 1998 Monitoring the Future Study |
