December 15, 2009 Teen Use of Methamphetamines and Cigarette Smoking has Significantly Declined but Steady Marijuana and Prescription Drug Use Remain Areas of Concern Methamphetamine use among adolescents has dropped in recent years, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Monitoring the Future survey released December 14, 2009 and cigarette smoking remains at its lowest point since the survey began in 1975.  However, the survey also shows that the decline in marijuana use has stalled and prescription drug abuse is still high.  While marijuana use across 8th, 10th and 12th grades has consistently declined since the mid-1990s, this trend seems to have stalled in the last five years. Also of concern, tenth graders reported an increase of past year non-medical use of Vicodin and OxyContin. When asked how prescription drugs were obtained for non-medical use, 54% of 12th graders said they were given then or bought them from a friend or relative. Nineteen percent received a prescription for them.  Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes and values of 8th, 10th and 12th graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan under a grant from NIDA, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Overall, 46,097 students from 389 public and private schools in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades participated in this year's survey. To view an overview of the findings and previous Monitoring the Future results, click here: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/MTF.HTML   See also: NIH Press Release: Teen Methamphetamine Use, Cigarette Smoking at Lowest Levels in NIDA's 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey CHHCS E-Journal: Prescription for Danger--Trends in Teen Drug Abuse CHHCS E-Journal: The School as Drug Mart

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