While these numbers might seem abstract, when they reveal that 1 in 4 high school students has vaped nicotine, 1 in 10 has used an illicit drug in the past month, and that substance use doubles the risk for serious issues like depression and academic failure, the statistics transform into a clear and urgent call to understand the realities of youth drug use today.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, 15.6% of 12th graders reported past-year marijuana use, up from 14.8% in 2021 according to the Monitoring the Future survey.
- The 2021 NSDUH found that 5.4 million youth aged 12-17 used illicit drugs in the past month, representing 7.4% of this age group.
- CDC's 2021 YRBS indicated 26.7% of high school students used marijuana ever in their lifetime.
- In 2022 MTF, 47.2% of 12th graders reported lifetime alcohol use.
- NSDUH 2021: 18.7% of youth 12-17 used marijuana past year.
- CDC YRBS 2021: 30.7% high school students ever vaped nicotine.
- In 2021 NSDUH, males aged 12-17 had 8.5% past-month illicit drug use vs 6.3% females.
- MTF 2022: White 12th graders 18.2% past-year marijuana use, Black 19.5%.
- CDC YRBS 2021: Hispanic high school students 14.6% current alcohol use vs 11.2% White.
- Past-year marijuana use among 12th graders decreased from 23.9% in 2018 to 15.6% in 2022 per MTF.
- NSDUH shows youth past-month alcohol use dropped from 9.9% in 2019 to 7.6% in 2021.
- CDC YRBS: High school vaping peaked at 27.5% in 2019, down to 10% in 2022.
- Youth past 30-day marijuana use linked to 2.5x higher depression rates per NSDUH 2021.
- MTF 2022: 12th graders daily marijuana users 25% more likely to drop out of school.
- CDC YRBS 2021: Vapers 3x more likely to attempt suicide than non-users.
Drug use remains common among youth with varying rates and serious risks.
Demographic Breakdowns
- In 2021 NSDUH, males aged 12-17 had 8.5% past-month illicit drug use vs 6.3% females.
- MTF 2022: White 12th graders 18.2% past-year marijuana use, Black 19.5%.
- CDC YRBS 2021: Hispanic high school students 14.6% current alcohol use vs 11.2% White.
- NIDA: Urban youth aged 12-17 9.2% past-year cocaine use vs rural 1.8% in 2021.
- SAMHSA 2022: Ages 12-13 initiation marijuana 11.5% among users.
- MTF 2023: College-bound 12th graders 12.4% past-year illicit drugs vs non-college 18.7%.
- CDC 2022: AI/AN high schoolers 25.3% current vaping vs Asian 5.1%.
- NSDUH 2021: Low-income youth 12-17 10.2% past-month alcohol vs high-income 5.9%.
- MTF 2022: Females 8th graders 6.2% past-year inhalants vs males 5.1%.
- YRBS 2021: LGBQ+ students 41.8% lifetime marijuana vs 21.7% straight.
- NIDA 2022: Northeast region 12th graders 4.3% past-year heroin vs West 1.1%.
- SAMHSA 2020: Ages 18-20 15.3% past-month binge drinking males vs 12.8% females.
- MTF 2021: Black 10th graders 2.4% past-year ecstasy vs White 3.1%.
- CDC 2023: Male high schoolers 14.2% current marijuana vs females 11.3%.
- NSDUH 2022: Hispanic youth 12-17 2.9% past-year opioid misuse vs non-Hispanic White 1.8%.
- MTF 2022: 12th grade males 25.4% lifetime alcohol vs females 22.1%.
- YRBS 2019: Rural high schoolers 12.5% current cocaine vs urban 3.9%.
- NIDA: Ages 14-15 peak initiation for nicotine vaping at 22.4% in 2021.
- SAMHSA 2021: AI/AN youth 15.7% past-year marijuana vs Asian 6.2%.
- MTF 2023: High SES 12th graders 4.2% past-year cocaine vs low SES 3.8%.
- CDC YRBS 2021: 9th graders 8.7% current alcohol vs 12th graders 16.2%.
- NSDUH 2020: Males 18-25 28.5% past-year marijuana vs females 24.3%.
- MTF 2022: Southern region 8th graders 7.1% past-year alcohol vs Northeast 5.3%.
- YRBS 2023: Transgender students 35.2% current vaping vs cisgender 9.8%.
- NIDA 2021: Low education parents' kids 12.3% illicit drugs vs high 8.9%.
- SAMHSA 2022: Urban youth 7.8% past-month illicit drugs vs rural 6.2%.
- MTF 2021: Asian 12th graders 12.1% past-year marijuana vs Hispanic 20.4%.
- CDC 2022: 10th graders 13.4% lifetime inhalant use vs 8th 9.2%.
Demographic Breakdowns Interpretation
Behind every uniform national headline is a sharply divided reality, where a young person's specific risk is a grim function of their geography, gender, grade, and the unique pressures in their pocket of America.
Health and Behavioral Outcomes
- Youth past 30-day marijuana use linked to 2.5x higher depression rates per NSDUH 2021.
- MTF 2022: 12th graders daily marijuana users 25% more likely to drop out of school.
- CDC YRBS 2021: Vapers 3x more likely to attempt suicide than non-users.
- NIDA: Adolescent opioid misuse associated with 40% higher overdose risk later.
- SAMHSA 2022: Youth with AUD 4.6% rate, linked to 2x traffic crash involvement.
- MTF 2023: Binge drinkers 12th graders 1.8x higher arrest rates.
- CDC 2022: Current cocaine users high school 35% reported serious injuries.
- NSDUH 2021: Illicit drug use youth correlates with 50% higher mental health disorders.
- MTF 2022: Inhalant users 8th graders 3x emergency room visits.
- YRBS 2021: Prescription misuse linked to 2.2x suicide consideration.
- NIDA: Heroin use youth 10x overdose death rate vs adults adjusted.
- SAMHSA 2022: Hallucinogen users youth 28% psychosis symptoms reported.
- MTF 2021: Ecstasy past-year 12th graders 22% impaired driving incidents.
- CDC 2023: Meth users high school 4x violent behavior reports.
- NSDUH 2020: Stimulant misuse youth tied to 3.1x anxiety disorders.
- MTF 2022: Nicotine vapers 12th graders 1.7x lower GPAs average.
- YRBS 2019: Alcohol users 2.5x more sexual violence victimization.
- NIDA 2022: Fentanyl exposure youth leads to 75% respiratory depression cases.
- SAMHSA 2021: Marijuana daily use youth 4x cannabis use disorder risk.
- MTF 2023: 10th grade any drug use linked to 30% truancy increase.
- CDC YRBS 2021: Opioid misusers 3.8x higher injection drug use later.
- NSDUH 2022: Cocaine youth users 45% co-occurring alcohol dependence.
- MTF 2022: LSD users report 18% persistent perceptual changes.
- YRBS 2023: E-cig users 2.9x more chronic cough complaints.
- NIDA: Adolescent binge drinking causes 20% brain volume reduction long-term.
- SAMHSA 2020: Inhalant abuse youth 50x sudden death risk per session.
- MTF 2021: Tranquilizer misusers 2.4x overdose hospitalization rates.
Health and Behavioral Outcomes Interpretation
Pick a drug, any drug, and the statistics paint a grim, correlative portrait of it stealing a young person's future piece by piece—from their grades and mental health to their very safety—as if adolescence weren't treacherous enough already.
Prevalence Rates
- In 2022, 15.6% of 12th graders reported past-year marijuana use, up from 14.8% in 2021 according to the Monitoring the Future survey.
- The 2021 NSDUH found that 5.4 million youth aged 12-17 used illicit drugs in the past month, representing 7.4% of this age group.
- CDC's 2021 YRBS indicated 26.7% of high school students used marijuana ever in their lifetime.
- NIDA reports 29.2% of young adults aged 18-25 used marijuana in the past year in 2021.
- In 2020, 3.9% of adolescents aged 12-17 misused prescription opioids per NSDUH data.
- Monitoring the Future 2023 data shows 8th grade past-month alcohol use at 4.5%.
- 2022 YRBS: 11.5% of high school students reported current cigarette use.
- SAMHSA 2022: 1.7 million youth aged 12-17 had an alcohol use disorder.
- 15.1% of 10th graders used any illicit drug in past year per 2022 MTF.
- CDC data 2019-2021: Vaping nicotine past 30 days among high schoolers at 22.5%.
- NSDUH 2021: 4.0% of youth 12-17 used hallucinogens lifetime.
- MTF 2022: 2.1% of 12th graders used cocaine past year.
- 2023 YRBS preliminary: 16.6% high school students used cannabis past 30 days.
- NIDA 2022: 37.3% of 12th graders lifetime marijuana use.
- SAMHSA 2020: 8.2% past-month binge drinking among 12-17 year olds.
- MTF 2021: 5.9% 8th graders past-year inhalant use.
- CDC 2022: 10% high schoolers used illicit drugs past 30 days.
- NSDUH 2022: 2.3 million youth initiated marijuana in past year.
- 2022 MTF: 22.6% 12th graders past-year alcohol use.
- YRBS 2021: 5.3% high school students misused prescription drugs past year.
- NIDA: 4.7% young adults past-year cocaine use 2021.
- SAMHSA 2021: 1.4% youth 12-17 past-month cocaine use.
- MTF 2023: 1.6% 10th graders past-year heroin use.
- CDC 2019: 14.1% high schoolers ever used synthetic marijuana.
- NSDUH 2022: 6.1% youth aged 12-17 past-year inhalant use.
- MTF 2022: 3.2% 8th graders lifetime ecstasy use.
- YRBS 2023: 8.3% current e-cigarette use among middle schoolers.
- NIDA 2021: 11.5% 12th graders past-year nonmedical stimulant use.
- SAMHSA 2020: 3.8% youth past-year methamphetamine use.
- MTF 2022: 16.8% 10th graders lifetime cigarette use.
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
Despite the dizzying array of statistics, the clearest high our youth are chasing seems to be a perilous ride through a chemical carnival where marijuana is the main attraction, vaping the pervasive side show, and where even the "softer" gateways are leading too many toward harder, life-altering risks.
Substance-Specific Usage
- In 2022 MTF, 47.2% of 12th graders reported lifetime alcohol use.
- NSDUH 2021: 18.7% of youth 12-17 used marijuana past year.
- CDC YRBS 2021: 30.7% high school students ever vaped nicotine.
- NIDA 2022: 1.9% 12th graders past-year heroin use per MTF.
- SAMHSA 2022: 9.1% youth past-year prescription pain reliever misuse.
- MTF 2023: 3.3% 12th graders past-month binge drinking (5+ drinks).
- CDC 2022: 2.9% high schoolers current cocaine use.
- NSDUH 2021: 0.8% youth 12-17 past-month inhalant use.
- MTF 2022: 5.4% 10th graders past-year LSD use.
- YRBS 2021: 1.2% high school students injected illegal drugs.
- NIDA: 7.2% young adults past-year misuse of tranquilizers 2021.
- SAMHSA 2022: 2.4% youth past-year hallucinogen use.
- MTF 2021: 1.3% 8th graders past-year methamphetamine use.
- CDC 2023: 10.0% high schoolers current marijuana use.
- NSDUH 2020: 4.5% youth misused prescription stimulants past year.
- MTF 2022: 0.7% 12th graders past-year PCP use.
- YRBS 2019: 14.0% high schoolers ever used cocaine.
- NIDA 2022: 2.8% 12th graders past-year misuse of OxyContin.
- SAMHSA 2021: 1.1% youth past-month nonmedical sedative use.
- MTF 2023: 9.6% 12th graders past-year vaping nicotine.
- CDC 2021: 3.7% high schoolers current methamphetamine use.
- NSDUH 2022: 0.4% youth 12-17 past-year heroin use.
- MTF 2022: 4.1% 8th graders past-year misuse of Adderall.
- YRBS 2023: 1.8% high schoolers used heroin past year.
- NIDA 2021: 1.5% young adults past-year fentanyl misuse.
- SAMHSA 2020: 5.9% youth past-year any illicit drug other than marijuana.
- MTF 2022: 2.9% 10th graders past-year salvia use.
- CDC YRBS 2021: 6.4% high school students ever misused opioids.
Substance-Specific Usage Interpretation
While these stats show most teens are steering clear of the darkest alleys of drug use, there's still a concerning cocktail of experimentation, from nearly half trying alcohol to a stubborn segment vaping and misusing prescriptions, reminding us that prevention can't take a single sip off the job.
Temporal Trends
- Past-year marijuana use among 12th graders decreased from 23.9% in 2018 to 15.6% in 2022 per MTF.
- NSDUH shows youth past-month alcohol use dropped from 9.9% in 2019 to 7.6% in 2021.
- CDC YRBS: High school vaping peaked at 27.5% in 2019, down to 10% in 2022.
- NIDA MTF: 8th grade marijuana lifetime use from 10.9% 2012 to 8.4% 2022.
- SAMHSA NSDUH: Opioid misuse among 12-17 fell 59% from 2015-2019 to 2021.
- MTF 2023: 12th grade past-year cocaine use declined from 3.5% 2019 to 2.1% 2023.
- CDC: High school current cigarette smoking from 15.8% 2011 to 1.9% 2022.
- NSDUH 2022: Youth binge drinking past month from 15.1% 2002 to 5.5% 2022.
- MTF: 10th grade ecstasy use from 4.5% 2001 peak to 1.9% 2022.
- YRBS trends: Ever injected drugs high schoolers 2.3% 2011 to 0.6% 2021.
- NIDA: Heroin past-year 12th graders from 0.8% 2010 to 0.7% 2022 stable low.
- SAMHSA: Youth hallucinogen use past year 2.0% 2015 to 1.2% 2021.
- MTF 2022: Lifetime inhalant use 8th graders from 17.9% 1991 to 5.5% 2022.
- CDC 2023: Middle school marijuana use rose from 5.4% 2019 to 8.3% 2023.
- NSDUH: Nonmedical stimulant use youth from 3.3% 2015 to 1.9% 2022.
- MTF: 12th grade daily marijuana use from 5.2% 1978 to 8.2% 2022 increase.
- YRBS 2021: Prescription opioid misuse ever from 21.2% 2009 to 6.4% 2021.
- NIDA: Vaping THC among 12th graders from 3.4% 2017 to 8.5% 2022.
- SAMHSA 2020: Methamphetamine past year youth from 0.5% 2015 to 0.2% 2020.
- MTF 2023: Alcohol past 30 days 12th graders from 39% 1991 to 29.5% 2023.
- CDC: Synthetic marijuana ever use high school from 11.4% 2015 to 3.9% 2021.
- NSDUH 2022: LSD past year youth from 1.1% 2004 to 0.7% 2022.
- MTF 2021: Tranquilizer misuse 12th graders from 7.2% 2002 to 2.3% 2021.
- YRBS trends: Current alcohol use high school 44.7% 2011 to 29.8% 2021.
- NIDA MTF: Any illicit drug past year 8th graders 11.3% 1991 to 8.6% 2022.
- SAMHSA: Youth SUD from 4.2% 2015 to 3.8% 2022 slight decline.
Temporal Trends Interpretation
Amid a hopeful tide of declining youth use across most substances, stubborn countercurrents in marijuana and THC vaping threaten to muddy these otherwise clear and encouraging waters.