NCJ Number
131341
Date Published
1990
Length
80 pages
Annotation
The 1988 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) provides basic information about the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs by members of the U.S. household population aged 12 years and over.
Abstract
A national probability sample of households in the coterminous United States was selected from 100 primary sampling units. Interviews were conducted randomly with sample household members, and survey procedures were designed to control sample sizes for age and race/ethnicity. The 1988 NHSDA included 8,814 individuals who were asked about the use of marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, nonmedical use of psychotherapeutic drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco. In 1988, 37 percent had used illicit drugs one or more times in their lives; 85 percent had used alcohol, and 75 percent had smoked cigarettes. About 7 percent used illicit drugs in the month before the interview, 53 percent had used alcohol, and 29 percent had smoked cigarettes. Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, followed by psychotherapeutic drugs and cocaine. Lifetime prevalence rates of heroin and crack use were low. The lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use among those 26 years and older was 34 percent. This meant that about 50 million individuals in this group used one or more illicit drugs in their lifetimes. Almost one-fourth of those aged 12 to 17 years had used illicit drugs one or more times in their lives. Selected data tables are appended. 6 tables and 24 figures