Forum on Child and Family StatisticsBEH3.A Illicit drug use: Percentage of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students who reported using illicit drugs in the past 30 days by grade, sex, and race and Hispanic origin, 1980–2024
| Characteristic | 1980a | 1981a | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020b | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th grade | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5.7 | 6.8 | 8.4 | 10.9 | 12.4 | 14.6 | 12.9 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 9.7 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.4 |
| Sex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Male | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5.8 | 6.4 | 8.7 | 11.9 | 12.7 | 14.6 | 13.3 | 11.9 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 13.2 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 7.8 | 8.8 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 9.0 | 10.3 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 7.2 | — | 4.4 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
| Female | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5.4 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 9.6 | 11.9 | 14.1 | 12.3 | 11.9 | 11.7 | 11.3 | 9.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 8.6 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 9.7 | — | 7.3 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 4.9 |
| Race and Hispanic originc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.8 | 9.6 | 12.2 | 14.2 | 13.3 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 11.4 | 11.0 | 10.1 | 9.2 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 5.0 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.6 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 8.7 | 9.4 | 11.7 | 9.8 | 10.5 | 11.7 | 9.8 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 8.8 | 9.4 | 9.1 | 7.9 | 6.6 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.1 | 10.5 | 8.1 | 9.8 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 6.1 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 3.9 |
| Hispanic | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9.1 | 10.9 | 13.8 | 17.4 | 16.0 | 16.9 | 14.9 | 16.9 | 17.1 | 13.2 | 16.5 | 13.8 | 12.3 | 11.9 | 10.5 | 11.3 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 12.0 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 11.2 | 10.9 | 9.8 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 10.1 | 13.2 | 12.5 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 5.7 |
| 10th grade | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11.6 | 11.0 | 14.0 | 18.5 | 20.2 | 23.2 | 23.0 | 21.5 | 22.1 | 22.5 | 22.7 | 20.8 | 19.5 | 18.3 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 16.9 | * | 17.8 | 18.5 | 19.2 | 18.6 | 19.2 | 18.5 | 16.5 | 15.9 | 17.2 | 18.3 | 19.8 | 18.2 | 10.9 | 12.9 | 11.3 | 10.0 |
| Sex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Male | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12.1 | 11.3 | 15.2 | 20.5 | 21.1 | 24.3 | 24.8 | 22.5 | 23.7 | 25.4 | 24.9 | 21.7 | 21.0 | 19.6 | 18.3 | 17.9 | 18.0 | * | 20.3 | 21.8 | 22.2 | 21.2 | 21.7 | 18.9 | 17.0 | 16.2 | 16.7 | 18.7 | 19.5 | — | 10.1 | 11.8 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Female | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10.8 | 10.5 | 12.5 | 16.1 | 19.0 | 21.9 | 21.0 | 20.5 | 20.4 | 19.5 | 20.5 | 19.8 | 18.0 | 16.9 | 16.1 | 15.4 | 15.7 | * | 15.4 | 15.1 | 16.3 | 16.1 | 16.7 | 18.1 | 15.6 | 15.5 | 17.2 | 17.5 | 19.8 | — | 12.6 | 13.6 | 12.0 | 9.7 |
| Race and Hispanic originc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12.5 | 11.7 | 14.3 | 18.4 | 20.9 | 24.1 | 23.6 | 22.5 | 22.8 | 23.2 | 23.6 | 22.2 | 20.3 | 18.3 | 18.0 | 17.2 | 17.9 | 15.6 | 17.6 | 17.9 | 18.6 | 18.0 | 17.8 | 17.7 | 15.3 | 16.3 | 16.9 | 16.9 | 17.8 | 15.1 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 11.1 | 9.0 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5.6 | 4.8 | 7.7 | 14.7 | 16.2 | 17.9 | 17.5 | 15.5 | 16.2 | 17.7 | 17.4 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 18.7 | 14.2 | 16.1 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 16.3 | 17.3 | 20.6 | 19.2 | 21.8 | 19.4 | 19.6 | 16.8 | 16.6 | 18.4 | 21.5 | 24.5 | 8.7 | 12.4 | 13.7 | 9.3 |
| Hispanic | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12.0 | 13.6 | 16.1 | 19.9 | 21.3 | 23.8 | 24.5 | 23.9 | 23.8 | 23.7 | 22.9 | 19.9 | 20.1 | 19.9 | 18.7 | 16.5 | 17.5 | 20.4 | 21.0 | 21.1 | 21.2 | 22.1 | 23.3 | 21.7 | 19.8 | 16.6 | 19.5 | 20.4 | 22.1 | 20.6 | 12.5 | 15.3 | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| 12th grade | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 37.2 | 36.9 | 32.5 | 30.5 | 29.2 | 29.7 | 27.1 | 24.7 | 21.3 | 19.7 | 17.2 | 16.4 | 14.4 | 18.3 | 21.9 | 23.8 | 24.6 | 26.2 | 25.6 | 25.9 | 24.9 | 25.7 | 25.4 | 24.1 | 23.4 | 23.1 | 21.5 | 21.9 | 22.3 | 23.3 | 23.8 | 25.2 | 25.2 | 25.2 | 23.7 | 23.6 | 24.4 | 24.9 | 24.0 | 23.7 | 22.2 | 20.6 | 21.6 | 19.8 | 16.5 |
| Sex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Male | 39.6 | 38.3 | 33.9 | 33.4 | 31.2 | 32.1 | 29.8 | 26.4 | 23.4 | 22.1 | 18.9 | 18.4 | 15.9 | 20.4 | 25.5 | 26.8 | 27.5 | 28.7 | 29.1 | 28.6 | 27.5 | 28.4 | 28.5 | 27.3 | 26.1 | 26.7 | 22.8 | 25.2 | 25.0 | 26.6 | 27.5 | 29.0 | 28.6 | 28.8 | 26.6 | 25.1 | 26.8 | 25.8 | 25.9 | 24.5 | — | 18.6 | 20.7 | 19.5 | 14.8 |
| Female | 34.3 | 34.9 | 26.7 | 26.3 | 26.2 | 26.7 | 24.1 | 22.6 | 19.1 | 17.2 | 15.2 | 14.1 | 12.7 | 15.9 | 18.3 | 20.4 | 21.2 | 23.2 | 21.6 | 22.7 | 22.1 | 22.6 | 21.8 | 20.6 | 20.3 | 19.3 | 19.7 | 18.4 | 19.4 | 19.9 | 19.6 | 21.1 | 21.2 | 21.0 | 20.5 | 21.8 | 21.7 | 23.4 | 20.9 | 22.3 | — | 21.4 | 21.6 | 19.2 | 16.4 |
| Race and Hispanic originc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 32.6 | 30.5 | 29.7 | 30.6 | 28.4 | 26.0 | 23.4 | 21.7 | 19.2 | 17.9 | 15.8 | 19.7 | 23.2 | 24.3 | 25.3 | 27.6 | 27.5 | 26.4 | 25.4 | 27.5 | 26.9 | 26.1 | 25.3 | 25.3 | 22.6 | 23.7 | 23.5 | 24.4 | 24.2 | 25.9 | 24.8 | 24.2 | 23.5 | 23.1 | 23.6 | 24.5 | 23.9 | 22.3 | 18.4 | 20.9 | 22.6 | 21.9 | 18.3 | 20.4 | 18.3 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 24.3 | 26.8 | 22.8 | 23.0 | 17.9 | 15.5 | 11.6 | 10.9 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 11.5 | 17.5 | 19.0 | 20.4 | 19.7 | 19.2 | 21.4 | 19.2 | 18.2 | 18.2 | 17.7 | 15.8 | 16.5 | 17.9 | 16.4 | 19.1 | 21.2 | 21.9 | 23.4 | 24.0 | 27.9 | 24.0 | 23.5 | 25.5 | 26.1 | 24.9 | 25.0 | 29.4 | 21.9 | 16.8 | 24.3 | 16.1 | 22.3 | 16.1 |
| Hispanic | 30.0 | 28.1 | 28.0 | 26.6 | 24.4 | 22.3 | 16.5 | 14.4 | 13.4 | 16.0 | 13.4 | 17.4 | 19.3 | 24.0 | 21.3 | 26.1 | 21.8 | 27.8 | 27.0 | 24.0 | 22.7 | 19.6 | 20.4 | 19.5 | 20.8 | 18.6 | 20.3 | 20.8 | 22.7 | 23.4 | 26.7 | 28.0 | 24.2 | 24.4 | 27.4 | 24.9 | 22.1 | 24.8 | 24.0 | 19.8 | 21.7 | 16.2 | 15.0 | 16.9 | 15.0 |
| — Not available. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Data for 10th-graders for 2008 are not included because estimates are considered to be unreliable due to sampling errors. See https://monitoringthefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/overview2009.pdf#page=9. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a Beginning in 1982, the question about stimulant use (i.e., amphetamines) was revised to get respondents to exclude the inappropriate reporting of nonprescription stimulants. The prevalence rate dropped slightly as a result of this methodological change. In 2013, the text for the amphetamines use question was revised again. Data for the any illicit drug index was affected by these changes. Beginning in 2013 for full sample and sex data and in 2014 for race/ethnicity data, data are based on the new version of the question. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| b In-school data collection in 2020 was halted on March 15, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This halt resulted in a sample size about one-quarter the size of a typical data collection. Detailed analysis supports the study results from 2020 as nationally representative. One reason Monitoring the Future (MTF) surveys a large sample size every year is so estimates of substance use for specific demographic subgroups can be produced. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates for demographic subgroups for 2020 because of the three-quarters reduction in sample size due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 in-school data collection was also unique because it was the first year all students recorded their answers on electronic tablets, which MTF brought to the schools. This transition to electronic data collection was part of a plan that included a 2019 MTF administration in which a randomly selected half of schools used traditional paper and-pencil questionnaires and the other half used electronic tablets. This allowed assessment of potential survey mode effects, and in 2020 and all future years the project will no longer use paper-and-pencil questionnaires. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| c Hispanic indicated by students who marked the response "Mexican American or Chicano," "Cuban American," "Puerto Rican," or "Other Hispanic or Latino." Of the remaining respondents, those who marked White (or the Middle Eastern category, added in 2021) and not other categories coded White, and those who marked Black and no other categories coded as Black. Some estimates have been revised since previous publication in America's Children. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NOTE: Use of "any illicit drug" includes any use of marijuana, LSD, other hallucinogens, crack, other cocaine, heroin, or any use of other narcotics, amphetamines, barbiturates, or tranquilizers not under a doctor's orders. For 8th and 10th graders, the use of other narcotics and barbiturates is excluded because younger respondents appear to overreport use (perhaps because they include the use of nonprescription drugs in their answers). Some estimates have been revised from previous publications. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: Miech, R. A., Johnston, L. D., Patrick, M. E., & O'Malley, P. M. (2025). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2024: Overview and detailed results for secondary school students. Monitoring the Future Monograph Series. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
