Statistics
Results from SAMHSA's 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
- In 2008, 9.3 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 were current illicit drug users: 6.7 percent used marijuana, 2.9 percent engaged in nonmedical use of prescription-type psychotherapeutics, 1.1 percent used inhalants, 1.0 percent used hallucinogens, and 0.4 percent used cocaine.
- In 2008, 10.0 million persons aged 12 or older reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the past year. This corresponds to 4.0 percent of the population aged 12 or older, the same as the rate in 2007, but lower than the rate in 2002 (4.7 percent). Across age groups, the rate of driving under the influence of illicit drugs in 2008 was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (12.3 percent).
Current use - At least one drink in the past 30 days.
Binge use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.
Heavy use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days.
- Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol in the 2008 survey (51.6 percent). This translates to an estimated 129.0 million people, which is similar to the 2007 estimate of 126.8 million people (51.1 percent).
- More than one fifth (23.3 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey in 2008. This translates to about 58.1 million people. The rate in 2008 is the same as the rate in 2007 (23.3 percent).
- In 2008, heavy drinking was reported by 6.9 percent of the population aged 12 or older, or 17.3 million people. This percentage is the same as the rate of heavy drinking in 2007 (6.9 percent).
- Among adults aged 18 or older, the rate of past month alcohol use increased with increasing levels of education. Among adults with less than a high school education, 36.8 percent were current drinkers in 2008, significantly lower than the 67.9 percent of college graduates who were current drinkers. However, among adults aged 26 or older, binge and heavy alcohol use rates were lower among college graduates (19.5 and 4.6 percent, respectively) than among those who had not completed college (23.2 vs. 7.0 percent, respectively).
- In 2008, of the 2.9 million persons aged 12 or older who used illicit drugs for the first time within the past 12 months, a majority reported that their first drug was marijuana (56.6 percent). Nearly one third initiated with psychotherapeutics (29.6 percent, including 22.5 percent with pain relievers, 3.2 percent with tranquilizers, 3.0 percent with stimulants, and 0.8 percent with sedatives). A sizable proportion reported inhalants (9.7 percent) as their first drug, and a small proportion used hallucinogens as their first illicit drug (3.2 percent). Between 2007 and 2008, the percentage of past year illicit drug initiates whose first drug was tranquilizers decreased from 6.5 to 3.2 percent, while the percentage whose first drug was inhalants decreased between 2003 and 2008 from 12.9 to 9.7 percent.