Trends & Statistics

National Survey of Drug Use and Health

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National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Trends in Prevalence of Various Drugs for Ages 12 or Older, Ages 12 to 17, Ages 18 to 25, and Ages 26 or Older; 2016 - 2018 (in percent)*
Drug Time Period Ages 12 or Older Ages 12 to 17 Ages 18 to 25 Ages 26 or Older
2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018
Illicit Drugs Lifetime 48.5 49.5 49.2 23.0 23.9 23.9 56.3 57.0 55.6 50.2 51.3 51.2
Past Year 18.0 19.0 19.4 15.8 16.3 16.7 37.7 39.4 38.7 15.0 16.1 16.7
Past Month 10.6 11.2 11.7 7.9 7.9 8.0 23.2 24.2 23.9 8.9 9.5 10.1
Alcohol Lifetime 80.2 80.9 80.8 27.0 27.1 26.3 81.3 81.1 79.9 86.4 87.1 87.3
Past Year 64.8 65.7 65.5 21.6 21.9 20.8 74.4 74.0 73.1 68.4 69.5 69.5
Past Month 50.7 51.7 51.1 9.2 9.9 9.0 57.1 56.3 55.1 54.6 55.8 55.3
Cigarettes (any use) Lifetime 57.4 57.1 55.7 11.6 10.8 9.6 50.5 49.5 45.9 64.0 63.8 62.6
Past Year 22.7 21.5 21.0 7.2 6.3 5.5 31.7 31.0 27.9 23.1 21.7 21.7
Past Month 19.1 17.9 17.2 3.4 3.2 2.7 23.5 22.3 19.1 20.2 18.9 18.5
Smokeless Tobacco Lifetime 16.1 16.1 15.6 4.7 5.0 4.4 18.2 18.0 16.7 17.1 17.1 16.7
Past Year 4.4 4.3 4.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 8.0 7.7 7.1 4.0 3.9 3.7
Past Month 3.3 3.2 2.9 1.4 1.3 1.1 5.2 4.8 4.4 3.1 3.1 2.9
Marijuana Lifetime 44.0 45.2 45.3 14.8 15.3 15.4 51.8 52.7 51.5 46.2 47.5 47.8
Past Year 13.9 15.0 15.9 12.0 12.4 12.5 33.0 34.9 34.8 11.0 12.2 13.3
Past Month 8.9 9.6 10.1 6.5 6.5 6.7 20.8 22.1 22.1 7.2 7.9 8.6
Inhalants Lifetime 9.1 9.3 9.1 8.3 8.6 8.5 9.8 9.5 9.0 9.0 9.3 9.1
Past Year 0.6 0.6 0.7 2.2 2.3 2.7 1.4 1.6 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.4
Past Month 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.1
Methamphetamine Lifetime 5.4 5.4 5.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 2.4 3.0 2.5 6.5 6.4 6.5
Past Year 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.8 1.1 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.7
Past Month 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4
Hallucinogens Lifetime 15.4 15.5 15.8 2.7 2.8 2.3 17.2 17.1 16.4 16.6 16.7 17.3
Past Year 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.8 2.1 1.5 6.9 7.0 6.9 1.0 1.0 1.3
Past Month 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 1.9 1.7 1.7 0.3 0.3 0.4
LSD Lifetime 9.6 9.6 10.0 1.2 1.5 1.3 8.3 9.1 9.8 10.8 10.6 11.0
Past Year 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.8 3.4 3.8 3.5 0.3 0.3 0.4
Past Month 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.1
MDMA Lifetime 6.9 7.0 7.3 1.2 1.0 0.8 11.6 12.0 10.5 6.7 7.0 7.5
Past Year 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.5 3.5 3.5 3.1 0.5 0.5 0.6
Past Month 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.2
Cocaine Lifetime 14.4 14.9 14.7 0.9 0.7 0.7 11.3 12.0 11.4 16.6 17.0 16.8
Past Year 1.9 2.2 2.0 0.5 0.5 0.4 5.6 6.2 5.8 1.4 1.7 1.6
Past Month 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.0 1.6 1.9 1.5 0.6 0.7 0.7
Crack Cocaine Lifetime 3.3 3.5 3.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.1 1.3 1.0 4.0 4.3 4.1
Past Year 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3
Past Month 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2
Heroin Lifetime 1.8 1.9 1.9 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.6 1.8 1.3 2.1 2.2 2.2
Past Year 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3
Past Month 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
Tranquilizers Lifetime 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Past Year 2.2 2.2 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.7 5.3 5.5 4.6 1.8 1.7 1.7
Past Month 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.3 1.5 1.6 1.2 0.6 0.5 0.5
Psychotherapeutics (Nonmedical Use) Lifetime 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Past Year 6.9 6.6 6.2 5.3 4.9 4.8 14.5 14.4 12.3 5.9 5.6 5.3
Past Month 2.3 2.2 2.0 1.6 1.5 1.3 4.6 4.5 3.7 2.0 1.9 1.8
Pain Relievers Lifetime 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Past Year 4.3 4.1 3.6 3.5 3.1 2.8 7.1 7.2 5.5 3.9 3.7 3.4
Past Month 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.6 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.0
Sedatives Lifetime 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Past Year 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.4
Past Month 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1
Stimulants Lifetime 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Past Year 2.1 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.5 7.5 7.4 6.5 1.3 1.3 1.2
Past Month 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.5 2.2 2.1 1.7 0.4 0.5 0.4

The NSDUH questionnaire underwent a partial redesign in 2015. Due to the potential breaks in comparability, many estimates from prior years are not comparable due to methodological changes. These changes led to potential breaks in the comparability of estimates from prior years. These include measures of smokeless tobacco, overall illicit drug use, use of hallucinogens, MDMA (Ecstasy), inhalants, methamphetamine, and misuse of psychotherapeutics. For more detailed information on these revisions, see the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Methodological Summary and Definitions.

March 28, 2013