Marijuana Use on the Rise Among U.S. Teens
For the fourth straight year, marijuana use among teenagers rose in 2011. This is one of the findings of the Monitoring the Future Survey, an annual study funded by the National Institutes of Health and carried out by the University of Michigan. More than 46,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 in both public and private schools took part in the MTF survey, answering questions about drug use in the past month, past year and their entire lifetime.
Use of marijuana within the past year was reported by the following numbers of students in the survey:
• 12.5% of 8th graders
• 28.8% of 10th graders
• 36.4% of 12th graders
The study found that daily use of marijuana by high school seniors is at a 30-year high. Fewer teens in 2011 report seeing any danger with the use of marijuana, even when used on a daily basis. According to drug experts, t he increased use of marijuana by teens can be attributed to the fact that medical marijuana laws have made the substance more available and more acceptable in many states.
An additional area of concern is the use of so-called synthetic marijuana products which are sold under the names "K2" and "spice." These products were sold online and over the counter in many convenience stores before being made illegal in March of 2011. Synthetic marijuana is thought to be more dangerous because it may contain harmful chemicals and contaminates. One in nine high school students (or about 11%) admitted to using synthetic marijuana in the past year.
Good news from the report includes declining use of tobacco among teenagers. Marijuana is now smoked by slightly more teens on a monthly basis than cigarettes (22.6% compared to 18.7%). The binge use of alcohol (defined as 5 or more drinks in a row) also declined among teenagers in the survey.
The abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs by teenagers is still an area of concern. Although Vicodin use by younger students dropped slightly, OxyContin use by all age groups remain a problem. The survey also found that the use of stimulants by teenagers is on the rise and cause for alarm. About 22% of high schools students said they had misused a prescription drug in the past year, with more than 8% reported that they used amphetamines.
Dr. Howard K. Koh of the Department of Health and Human Services responded to the survey by saying that some of the results are heartening but there is still much work to be done in the area of substance abuse by teens.
