Illicit Drug Use - Youth

Illicit Drug Use - Youth in United States

United States

Drug abuse during adolescence has a significant and lasting impact on health and well-being. Substance misuse among adolescents increases the risk of the following: 

• Impaired physical and cognitive development. 
• Other risky behaviors, such as impaired driving and unprotected sex.
• Other health concerns in adulthood, including heart disease and high blood pressure.
• Becoming addicted or continuing to use substances later in life.

Substance use among adolescents in the United States has been declining since 2009; however, 30% of high school students still reported some substance use in 2021. More than a third of those who used substances reported using two or more substances, often at the same time, which increases the risk of overdose or long-term health problems.

According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the prevalence of illicit drug use is higher among:

• Youth ages 16-17 compared with those ages 12-13 and 14-15; the prevalence is higher with each increase in age group. 
• Non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic youth compared with non-Hispanic Asian youth.
• Youth who experienced a major depressive episode in the last year compared with those who did not.

Non-medical drug use can be prevented and treated. The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists 13 principles for choosing and implementing substance abuse prevention programs. SAMHSA has evidence-based programs and resources for parents, schools and primary care doctors, many of them focusing on children and adolescents. Community-school partnerships can help young people feel supported and connected, provide important health education and reduce risk factors for substance use. Programs such as Communities That Care and PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) have demonstrated positive results using a combination of evidence-based prevention education and substance use treatment services.

Healthy People 2030 has several objectives to reduce illicit drug use among youth, including:

• Reducing the proportion of adolescents who used drugs in the past month.
• Reducing the proportion of adolescents who drank alcohol in the past month.

Hoots, Brooke E., Jingjing Li, Marci Feldman Hertz, Marissa B. Esser, Adriana Rico, Evelyn Y. Zavala, and Christopher M. Jones. “Alcohol and Other Substance Use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021.” MMWR Supplements 72, no. 1 (April 28, 2023): 84–92. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7201a10.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide.” 3rd ed. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. https://nida.nih.gov/sites/default/files/675-principles-of-drug-addiction-treatment-a-research-based-guide-third-edition.pdf.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Indicators as Measured through the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services.” Behavioral Health Barometer: United States, Volume 6. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2020. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt32815/National-BH-Barometer_Volume6.pdf.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, December 2022. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2021-nsduh-annual-national-report.