Happy New Year from Prontotrak! 2020 took some time out and remodeling for a lot of us, but we remained steady in our expansion in physical office locations, employee growth and client list. Looking toward the future for what this year holds, we’re taking a deep dive into data from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIH) for their 2020 end of year study on youth drug and alcohol abuse.
On December 15, the National Institute on Drug Abuse announced new data from the annual Monitoring the Future study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan. On December 16, a data processing error was found. This error misrepresented the scope of the decreases in daily or near-daily vaping of nicotine, marijuana, and just flavoring. NIDA’s materials were updated on December 17 to reflect the correct data. For the purpose of our reporting, we will stick to marijuana and alcohol use data.
Monitoring the Future is an annual drug use survey of eighth, 10th and 12th grade students conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. More than 11,800 students from 112 schools across the United States participated in the 2020 survey.* Below are their findings.
Since 2018, studies show that daily marijuana use amongst teenagers remains steady.
| Subjects | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8th graders | 10.5% | 11.8% | 11.4% |
| 10th graders | 27.5% | 28.8% | 28% |
| 12th graders | 35.9% | 35.7% | 35.2% |
| Subjects | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8th graders | 0.7% | 1.3% | 1.1% |
| 10th graders | 3.4% | 4.8% | 4.4% |
| 12th graders | 5.8% | 6.4% | 6.9% |
Since 2010, studies show that daily alcohol use amongst teenagers has declined.
| Subjects | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8th graders | 7.2% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
| 10th graders | 16.3% | 10.9% | 9.6% |
| 12th graders | 23.2% | 17.2% | 16.8% |
| Subjects | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8th graders | 29.3% | 21.0% | 20.5% |
| 10th graders | 52.1% | 41.9% | 40.7% |
| 12th graders | 65.2% | 58.2% | 55.3% |
The question remains that whether the impact of COVID-19 and aftermath will change the shift in results and how this data will require changes for us in the monitoring industry.
All data provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Findings and reporting at drugabuse.gov.