NCJ Number
165988
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper summarizes the results of the University of Michigan surveys conducted annually from 1975 through 1993 to determine the prevalence of illicit drug use among juveniles and young adults.
Abstract
The findings show that five classes of illicitly used drugs have had an impact on appreciable proportions of young Americans in their late teens and 20's. They are marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, LSD, and inhalants. In 1993 high school seniors showed annual prevalence rates of 26 percent, 3 percent, 8 percent, 7 percent, and 7 percent, respectively. Among college students in 1993, the comparable annual prevalence rates were 28 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent, and 4 percent. For all high school graduates 1 to 10 years past high school, the rates were 25 percent, 5 percent, 4 percent, 4 percent, and 2 percent. LSD has climbed in the rankings because it either has not declined, or in some cases has increased during a period in which cocaine, amphetamines, and other drugs have declined appreciably. The inhalants have become relatively more important for similar reasons. Regarding alcohol use, despite the fact that it is illegal for virtually all high school students and most college students to purchase alcoholic beverages, experience with alcohol is almost universal among them. Most important is the widespread occurrence of occasions of heavy drinking, measured by the percentage reporting five or more drinks in a row at least once in the prior 2-week period. Despite the improvements in recent years, it is still true that this Nation's secondary school students and young adults show a level of involvement with illicit drugs that is greater than has been documented in any other industrialized nation in the world. 1 reference