December 19, 2005 -- Monitoring the Future Survey Finds Mixed Trends on Student Drug Use

The 2005 “Monitoring the Future” survey released today shows little change in illicit drug use by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from 2004 to 2005; but the survey found that declines in drug use, especially marijuana, that have been observed since 2001 seem to be continuing. Offseting that good news, said the director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, is an upward trend in prescription drug abuse, especially opioid painkillers. In 2005, 9.5 percent of 12th graders reported using Vicodin at least once in the past year, and 5.5 percent reported using OxyContin. “Prescription drugs are very powerful medicines. Using these drugs without a prescription is dangerous. It’s imperative that teens get this message,” said the director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), Dr. Nora Volkow. Other areas of concern identified in the survey are increases in the use of sedatives/barbiturates (sleeping pills) among 12th graders and lifetime and past-year use of inhalants by younger students.The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health is funded by NIDA and is administered by the University of Michigan. The survey collects data on a number of health issues from students in grades 9-12. The website of the Monitoring the Future survey is http://monitoringthefuture.org.