BEH3.A Illicit drug use: Percentage of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students who reported using illicit drugs in the past 30 days by grade, gender, and race and Hispanic origin, 1980–2022

excel icon BEH3.A Excel Table

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
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
Gender
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
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
Race and Hispanic originc
White, non-Hispanic 5.9 7.1 8.7 18.9 13.2 13.7 12.4 11.3 11.2 11.2 10.6 9.6 8.4 7.7 7.5 7.1 6.9 7.2 7.9 7.8 6.5 5.8 6.4 6.3 5.6 5.2 5.5 5.7 6.6 6.3
Black, non-Hispanic 3.8 5.1 7.4 9.1 10.5 10.8 10.2 11.1 10.8 9.6 9.1 8.9 9.1 9.3 8.6 7.3 7.2 8.2 8.9 8.9 8.4 9.4 9.1 8.9 9.0 8.1 6.9 8.0 6.7 5.8
Hispanic 10.2 12.3 15.7 16.7 16.5 15.9 15.9 17.0 15.2 15.0 15.3 13.1 12.1 11.0 10.2 9.5 8.9 9.2 10.8 11.9 11.8 11.4 10.4 9.6 8.8 8.1 8.5 10.2 6.2 5.0
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
Gender
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
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
Race and Hispanic originc
White, non-Hispanic 12.1 13.1 16.4 19.7 22.4 23.8 23.1 22.6 23.0 23.4 22.9 21.2 19.3 18.2 17.6 17.5 * 16.7 17.7 18.2 18.3 18.0 17.7 16.4 15.8 16.6 16.9 17.3 13.9 12.7
Black, non-Hispanic 5.2 6.1 11.4 15.5 17.0 17.7 16.4 15.8 17.0 17.6 16.2 16.0 17.5 16.4 15.0 14.0 * 14.7 16.8 19.0 19.9 20.1 21.0 19.5 18.1 16.7 17.5 19.9 17.6 10.4
Hispanic 12.7 15.0 18.0 20.6 22.5 24.2 24.2 23.8 23.7 23.3 21.4 20.0 20.0 19.3 17.0 15.5 * 19.4 19.7 20.1 20.6 21.6 21.8 19.8 17.2 16.6 18.7 20.1 15.1 13.0
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
Gender
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
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
Race and Hispanic originc
White, non-Hispanic 38.8 38.1 37.5 31.6 30 30.2 29.5 27.1 24.7 22.5 20.5 18.6 16.8 17.8 21.4 23.8 24.8 26.4 27.5 27.0 25.9 26.5 27.2 26.5 25.7 25.3 24.0 23.1 23.6 23.9 24.3 25.0 25.3 24.5 23.9 23.3 23.3 24.0 24.2 23.1 19.7 21.7
Black, non-Hispanic 28.8 27.1 27.3 25.5 24.2 22.9 20.7 16.7 13.3 11.2 9.0 7.2 7.3 9.1 14.3 18.3 19.7 20.0 19.4 20.2 20.3 18.7 18.2 17.9 16.8 16.1 17.2 17.1 17.8 19.9 21.6 22.6 23.7 25.8 25.8 23.7 24.4 25.8 25.6 24.9 25.7 19.2
Hispanic 33.1 33.4 33.1 29.1 28.0 27.2 25.3 23.2 19.4 15.3 13.9 14.7 14.6 15.6 18.3 21.4 22.6 23.9 24.1 24.4 27.4 25.3 23.4 21.2 19.9 19.6 19.4 18.5 18.1 19.2 20.2 21.6 24.0 27.0 24.3 22.9 24.6 24.9 22.2 21.9 18.8 18.2
— Not available.
* Data for 10th-graders for 2008 are not included because estimates are considered to be unreliable due to sampling errors. See http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data.html#2009data-drugs.
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 gender 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 (for more information see appendix to this article). 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 A 2-year moving average is presented, based on data from the year indicated and the previous year. For data before 2005, the 1977 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for data on race and ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. The revised 1997 OMB standards were used for data for 2006 and later years. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. In 2005, half of the sample received the earlier version of the question and half received the later one, and their data were combined. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and "Two or more races." Beginning in 2006, those in each racial category represent those reporting only one race. Data from 2006 onward are not directly comparable with data from earlier years. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
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., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg J. E. (2023). Monitoring the future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2022: Secondary School Students. Monitoring the Future Monograph Series. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan.