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	RELATED RESOURCES Summary of Findings Slide Show (PDF 253 kb) Master Tables (PDF 559 kb) Trends in Prevalence of Use for All Seniors (PDF 335 kb) Trends in Prevalence of Use of Tobacco (PDF 131 kb) Selected Tables and Figures (PDF 530 kb) President Bush Discusses Monitoring the Future Study on Teen Drug Use The Monitoring the Future Web site

Over the last several years, millions of Americans have rededicated themselves to pushing back against illegal drug use. As a result of the balanced anti-drug strategies being implemented at the Federal, State, and local levels, there are 860,000 fewer young people using drugs today than there were in 2001.

Pushing Back: Significant, Long-Term Reductions in Youth Drug Use

According to the latest Monitoring the Future Study (MTF), long-term trends of decreasing youth drug use have continued from 2001 to 2007:

• Use of any illicit drug has dropped 24 percent

• Marijuana use has decreased 25 percent

• Steroid use has dropped by a third

• Ecstasy use is less than half of what it was in 2001 (54 percent decline)

• Use of methamphetamine has plummeted a staggering 64 percent

• Use of alcohol, including binge drinking, and cigarette smoking have decreased by 15 and 33 percent, respectively

Teen Drug Use is Down Sharply Since 2001

Teen Marijuana Use is Down Sharply Since 2001

Meth Use Among Young People
Has Continued to Drop Sharply Since 2001

The Use of Steroids Among Young
People Has Declined Since 2001

Challenges Remain

In the context of the continuing long-term progress, there are still challenges that remain:

• Overall, youth prescription drug abuse is second largest category of abuse, only behind marijuana

  • Past-year use of Oxycontin increased 30 percent between 2002–2007
  • Past-year use of Vicodin has not receded

  Attitudes toward Ecstasy use have softened:

  • 7 percent decrease in perceived harmfulness of using Ecstasy occasionally;
  • 4 percent decrease in perceived harmfulness of using Ecstasy

MTF has been conducted by the University of Michigan since 1975. The 2007 Study surveyed 48,025 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in a nationally representative sample of 403 public and private schools.