From the alarming escalation in teen vaping to a stubbornly high number of adolescents experimenting with marijuana and other substances, these latest statistics reveal a complex and concerning landscape of adolescent drug use that demands our attention.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, 15.8% of 8th-grade students reported lifetime use of marijuana, according to the Monitoring the Future survey
- Among 10th graders in 2022, 29.6% had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime, per Monitoring the Future data
- 12th graders showed 42.3% lifetime marijuana use in 2022, from the same MTF survey
- In 2022 MTF, 29.6% of 10th graders vaped nicotine past year
- 12th graders past year nicotine vaping: 40.6% in 2022 MTF
- Past month alcohol use 8th graders: 8.4% 2022 MTF
- Lifetime marijuana use among 8th graders 16.6% in 2023 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime marijuana 31.2% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime marijuana 44.0% 2023 MTF
- Lifetime prescription opioid misuse among 8th graders 1.9% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime Rx opioid misuse 3.6% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime Rx opioid misuse 6.4% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021 reported higher marijuana use among males aged 12-17 at 18.2% past year vs 14.9% females
- MTF 2022: White 8th graders lifetime marijuana 17.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic 15.1%
- Among 10th graders 2022 MTF, college-bound had lower illicit drug use (18.4%) vs non-college (25.6%)
Adolescent drug use remains high, with significant consumption of marijuana, alcohol, and vaping.
Alcohol and Tobacco
- In 2022 MTF, 29.6% of 10th graders vaped nicotine past year
- 12th graders past year nicotine vaping: 40.6% in 2022 MTF
- Past month alcohol use 8th graders: 8.4% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders past month alcohol: 29.1% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders past month alcohol: 52.0% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021: 4.7 million adolescents drank alcohol past month
- 13.4% of 12-17 past month alcohol use 2021 NSDUH
- YRBS 2021: 29.2% high school students drank alcohol past 30 days
- 14.8% high schoolers binge drank past 30 days 2021 YRBS
- MTF 2023: Past month cigarette use 8th graders 1.4%
- 10th graders past month cigs: 1.9% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders past month cigs: 4.4% 2023 MTF
- NSDUH 2022: 1.8 million adolescents used tobacco past month
- 5.1% of 12-17 past month tobacco 2022 NSDUH
- YRBS 2021: 32.7% lifetime cigarette use high school students
- 6.0% currently smoke cigarettes past 30 days 2021 YRBS
- MTF 2022: Past year smokeless tobacco 8th graders 2.1%
- 10th graders past year smokeless: 4.3% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders past year smokeless tobacco: 7.9% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021: 1.2 million adolescents used cigars past year
- Past 30 day vaping high school: 27.5% 2021 YRBS
- MTF 2023: Lifetime alcohol use 8th graders 19.8%
- 10th graders lifetime alcohol: 46.9% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime alcohol: 79.7% 2023 MTF
Alcohol and Tobacco Interpretation
While cigarette use is finally taking a deserved nosedive, our high schools are clearly facing a volatile trade deal where vaping nicotine has become the concerning new currency and alcohol remains the distressingly ratified treaty.
Demographics
- NSDUH 2021 reported higher marijuana use among males aged 12-17 at 18.2% past year vs 14.9% females
- MTF 2022: White 8th graders lifetime marijuana 17.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic 15.1%
- Among 10th graders 2022 MTF, college-bound had lower illicit drug use (18.4%) vs non-college (25.6%)
- NSDUH 2022: Urban adolescents past year illicit drugs 16.8%, rural 13.2%
- YRBS 2021: Hispanic high school students marijuana past 30 days 14.1%, White 11.0%, Black 9.5%
- MTF 2023: Females 8th graders past month alcohol 7.9% vs males 8.9%
- Lifetime cigarette use higher in low SES 12th graders at 45.2% vs high SES 35.1% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021: 12-13 year olds past year illicit drugs 9.1%, 14-15: 17.3%, 16-17: 22.4%
- YRBS 2021: Gay/lesbian/bisexual students alcohol past 30 days 42.5% vs straight 27.1%
- MTF 2022: Non-college bound 12th graders binge drinking past month 32.4% vs college 25.2%
- NSDUH 2022: Black adolescents alcohol use disorder 3.8%, White 5.2%
- Higher vaping rates among male high schoolers 29.8% vs females 25.2% 2021 YRBS
- MTF 2023: Region Northeast 8th graders lifetime marijuana 14.2%, West 18.9%
- Lifetime illicit drug use higher in large metro 12th graders 42.3% vs small metro 37.8% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021: Adolescents in large metro past month tobacco 5.8%, non-metro 4.2%
- YRBS 2021: 10th graders marijuana lifetime 30.5%, 9th 24.1%, 11th 32.7%, 12th 35.2%
- MTF 2022: Higher SES 10th graders lower cocaine use 2.1% vs lower SES 3.5%
- Female 12th graders prescription misuse higher at 7.1% vs males 5.7% 2023 MTF
- NSDUH 2022: Hispanic youth past year marijuana 20.4%, Asian 8.6%
- Lifetime alcohol use among bisexual high schoolers 85.2% vs heterosexual 58.3% 2021 YRBS
- MTF 2023: 8th grade males vaping past year 11.2% vs females 9.8%
- NSDUH 2021: Past year illicit drug use peaks at age 17 with 25.6%
- YRBS 2021 shows rural high schoolers cigarette use 8.2% vs urban 5.1% past 30 days
- NSDUH 2022: Native American adolescents highest alcohol past month 18.4%
- MTF 2022: College plans correlate with lower heroin use across grades
- Adolescent marijuana users more likely from disrupted families per MTF 2022 analysis
Demographics Interpretation
It seems the adolescent experience comes with a factory-installed set of risk factors, where your demographic, geography, and future plans can statistically predict your proximity to substances as reliably as a weather forecast.
Illicit Drugs
- Lifetime marijuana use among 8th graders 16.6% in 2023 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime marijuana 31.2% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime marijuana 44.0% 2023 MTF
- Past year cocaine use 8th graders 1.2% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders past year cocaine 2.8% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders past year cocaine 3.4% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021: 422,000 adolescents used cocaine past year
- 1.5% of 12-17 past year cocaine 2021 NSDUH
- Lifetime hallucinogens 8th graders 3.3% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime hallucinogens 6.9% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime hallucinogens 10.2% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2022: 699,000 adolescents used hallucinogens past year
- 2.5% 12-17 past year hallucinogens 2022 NSDUH
- MTF 2023: Past year heroin use 8th graders 0.3%
- 10th graders past year heroin 0.4% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders past year heroin 0.6% 2023 MTF
- Lifetime inhalants 8th graders 9.7% 2023 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime inhalants 9.9% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime inhalants 10.8% 2023 MTF
- YRBS 2021: 3.0% high school students injected illegal drugs lifetime
- NSDUH 2021: 140,000 adolescents used heroin past year
- 0.5% 12-17 past year heroin 2021 NSDUH
- MTF 2022: Lifetime LSD 8th graders 2.4%
- 10th graders lifetime LSD 4.7% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime LSD 7.9% 2022 MTF
- Past year methamphetamine 8th graders 0.4% 2023 MTF
Illicit Drugs Interpretation
The data paints a sobering picture of adolescent risk, where marijuana use climbs like a predictable stair-step through high school, while the ominous but less traveled paths of cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin remind us that for a vulnerable minority, experimentation is a dangerous gamble with lifelong consequences.
Prescription Drugs
- Lifetime prescription opioid misuse among 8th graders 1.9% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime Rx opioid misuse 3.6% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime Rx opioid misuse 6.4% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2021: 1.2 million adolescents misused prescription stimulants past year
- 4.3% of 12-17 misused stimulants past year 2021 NSDUH
- Past year tranquilizer misuse 8th graders 1.0% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders past year tranquilizers 2.3% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders past year tranquilizers 4.1% 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2022: 852,000 adolescents misused prescription sedatives past year
- 3.0% 12-17 past year sedatives misuse 2022 NSDUH
- MTF 2023: Lifetime OxyContin use 8th graders 0.8%
- 10th graders lifetime Oxy 1.7% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime Oxy 3.3% 2023 MTF
- YRBS 2021: 14.4% high school students ever took prescription drugs to get high
- NSDUH 2021: 2.7% adolescents had prescription pain reliever use disorder
- MTF 2022: Past year Adderall misuse 8th graders 1.1%
- 10th graders past year Adderall 3.9% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders past year Adderall 5.6% 2022 MTF
- Lifetime benzodiazepine misuse 8th graders 1.4% 2023 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime benzos 2.8% 2023 MTF
- 12th graders lifetime benzos 5.2% 2023 MTF
- NSDUH 2022: 1.4 million 12-17 misused pain relievers past year
- 5.0% past year prescription opioid misuse among 12-17 2022 NSDUH
- Past year narcotic misuse excluding heroin 8th graders 2.1% 2022 MTF
Prescription Drugs Interpretation
The sobering reality is that as our children climb the grade ladder, they appear to be accumulating not just knowledge for their future, but also a statistically significant and dangerous familiarity with prescription drugs meant for someone else's ailments.
Prevalence Rates
- In 2022, 15.8% of 8th-grade students reported lifetime use of marijuana, according to the Monitoring the Future survey
- Among 10th graders in 2022, 29.6% had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime, per Monitoring the Future data
- 12th graders showed 42.3% lifetime marijuana use in 2022, from the same MTF survey
- NSDUH 2021 reported 5.4 million adolescents aged 12-17 had used illicit drugs in the past year
- 10.1% of adolescents aged 12-17 used illicit drugs in the past month in 2021 per NSDUH
- YRBS 2021 found 27.1% of high school students had used marijuana in their lifetime
- 11.3% of high school students used marijuana in the past 30 days in 2021, CDC YRBS
- MTF 2023: Any illicit drug use past year for 8th graders at 10.9%
- 10th graders past year illicit drug use: 19.8% in 2023 MTF
- 12th graders: 39.1% past year any illicit drug in 2023, MTF
- NSDUH 2022: 15.6% of 12-17 year olds used any illicit drug past year
- Past month any illicit drug use among 12-17: 7.2% in 2022 NSDUH
- 2021 YRBS: 14.7% high school students used cocaine lifetime
- Heroin lifetime use: 0.7% high school students 2021 YRBS
- Methamphetamine lifetime: 1.2% in 2021 YRBS high schoolers
- Inhalant lifetime use: 9.1% high school 2021 YRBS
- MTF 2022: 3.3% 8th graders used synthetic marijuana lifetime
- 5.9% 10th graders synthetic marijuana lifetime 2022 MTF
- 7.2% 12th graders lifetime synthetic marijuana 2022
- NSDUH 2021: 788,000 adolescents misused prescription pain relievers past year
- 2.7% of 12-17 misused opioids past year 2021 NSDUH
- Lifetime cigarette use among 8th graders: 12.6% in 2022 MTF
- 10th graders lifetime cigs: 21.4% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders: 39.3% lifetime cigarettes 2022 MTF
- Past month binge drinking 8th graders: 3.2% 2022 MTF
- 10th graders binge drinking past month: 12.5% 2022 MTF
- 12th graders: 27.8% past month binge drinking 2022 MTF
- NSDUH 2022: 1.6 million adolescents aged 12-17 had alcohol use disorder
- 4.5% of high school students currently use smokeless tobacco per 2021 YRBS
- 10.0% lifetime electronic vapor product use among 8th graders 2022 MTF
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim, escalating portrait of adolescent experimentation, where each grade level marks not just academic advancement but a sobering increased risk of substance misuse.
Trends
- Lifetime marijuana use declined from 21.4% in 2012 to 15.8% in 2022 for 8th graders MTF
- 10th grade past month marijuana from 16.0% 2012 to 15.3% 2022, slight decline MTF
- 12th grade lifetime marijuana stable around 44-45% from 2018-2023 MTF
- NSDUH shows past year illicit drug use among 12-17 from 18.9% 2015 to 15.6% 2022
- YRBS marijuana past 30 days high school from 19.8% 2011 to 11.3% 2021 decline
- Nicotine vaping past year 12th graders rose from 11.3% 2017 to 40.6% 2022 MTF surge
- Alcohol past month 8th graders declined from 13.5% 1991 to 8.4% 2022 MTF long-term drop
- Cigarette past month all grades down dramatically since 1990s per MTF 2023
- NSDUH prescription opioid misuse past year 12-17 from 6.4% 2015 to 5.0% 2022 decrease
- YRBS binge drinking past 30 days from 25.6% 2007 to 14.8% 2021 halving
- MTF hallucinogen use past year stable low <3% across decades for 12th graders
- Vaping any substance past month 12th graders peaked 2021 at 31.2% then 25.4% 2023 MTF
- NSDUH cocaine past year 12-17 steady around 1.5-2.0% 2015-2022
- Synthetic marijuana use crashed from 9.5% 2012 to 3.3% 2022 8th graders MTF
- Lifetime inhalant use 8th graders down from 17.6% 1991 to 9.7% 2023 MTF
- NSDUH alcohol use disorder 12-17 from 5.8% 2015 to 4.5% 2022 decline
- YRBS prescription drug misuse lifetime from 20.4% 2007 to 14.4% 2021 drop
- MTF perceived risk of marijuana daily use up slightly post-2020 for 10th graders
- Heroin past year use all grades <1% consistently since 2010 MTF
- NSDUH past month binge drinking 12-17 from 15.7% 2015 to 13.9% 2022 stable
Trends Interpretation
The news is cautiously encouraging, as adolescents seem to be thoughtfully trading classic intoxicants for trendy but uncertain vape clouds, proving that while their vices are ever-evolving, the instinct to experiment is a stubbornly reliable constant.