Information provided by the latest National Survey on Drug Use
and Health (2004), which is a project of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration. The survey interviews more than 65,000 people ages 12
and up each year for the most recent snapshot of drug use in America. For a
breakdown of statistics for a specific state in the U.S., visit the
state drug information
page.
19.1 million Americans, or 7.9 percent of the population aged 12
or older, were current illicit drug users. Current drug use means use of an
illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview.
The rate of
illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older in 2004 was similar to the
rates in 2002 and 2003 (8.3 and 8.2 percent). Among youths aged 12 to 17, the
rate declined between 2002 and 2004 (11.6 percent in 2002, 11.2 percent in
2003, and 10.6 percent in 2004).
Marijuana
was the most commonly used illicit drug in 2004, with a rate of 6.1 percent
(14.6 million current users). There were 2.0 million current cocaine users,
467,000 of whom used crack. Hallucinogens were used by 929,000 persons, and
there were an estimated 166,000 heroin users. All of these estimates are
similar to estimates for 2003.
Between 2002 and 2004, past month
marijuana use declined for male youths aged 12 to 17 (9.1 percent in 2002, 8.6
percent in 2003, and 8.1 percent in 2004), but it remained level for female
youths (7.2, 7.2, and 7.1 percent, respectively) during the same time
span.
The number of current users of Ecstasy
had decreased between 2002 and 2003, from 676,000 to 470,000, but the number
did not change between 2003 and 2004 (450,000).
6.0 million persons were
current users of psychotherapeutic drugs taken nonmedically (2.5 percent).
These include 4.4 million who used painkillers,
1.6 million who used tranquilizers,
1.2 million who used stimulants, and 0.3 million who used
sedatives. These estimates are all
similar to the corresponding estimates for 2003.
There were significant
increases in the lifetime prevalence of use from 2003 to 2004 in several
categories of pain relievers among those aged 18 to 25. Specific pain relievers
with statistically significant increases in lifetime use were Vicodin®,
Lortab®, or Lorcet® (from 15.0 to 16.5 percent); Percocet®,
Percodan®, or Tylox® (from 7.8 to 8.7 percent); hydrocodone products
(from 16.3 to 17.4 percent); OxyContin® (from 3.6 to 4.3 percent); and
oxycodone products (from 8.9 to 10.1 percent).
19.2 percent of
unemployed adults aged 18 or older were current illicit drug users compared
with 8.0 percent of those employed full time and 10.3 percent of those employed
part time. However, of the 16.4 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in
2004, 12.3 million (75.2 percent) were employed either full or part time.
121 million Americans aged 12 or older were current drinkers of
alcohol in 2004 (50.3 percent). 55 million (22.8
percent) participated in binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks on at
least one occasion in the 30 days prior to the survey. 16.7 million (6.9
percent) were heavy drinkers, defined as binge drinking on 5 or more days in
the past month. These numbers are all similar to the corresponding estimates
for 2002 and 2003.
The highest prevalence of binge and heavy drinking in
2004 was for young adults aged 18 to 25 (41.2 and 15.1 percent, respectively).
The peak rate of both measures occurred at age 21 (48.2 and 19.2 percent,
respectively).
The rate of underage
drinking remained the same in 2004 as in 2002 and 2003. About 10.8 million
persons aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the
survey interview in 2004 (28.7 percent of this age group). Of these, nearly 7.4
million (19.6 percent) were binge drinkers, and 2.4 million (6.3 percent) were
heavy drinkers.
32.5 million persons aged 12 or older in 2004 (13.5
percent) drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months
prior to the interview. This was similar to the rate in 2003.
Based on
a new approach to estimating incidence, the 2004 NSDUH shows that the illicit
drug category with the largest number of new users was nonmedical use of pain
relievers. 2.4 million persons used pain relievers nonmedically for the first
time within the past 12 months. The average age at first use among these new
initiates was 23.3 years.
In 2004, 2.1 million persons had used
marijuana for the first time within the past 12 months. This estimate was not
significantly different from the number in 2003 (2.0 million). The average age
at first use among the 2.1 million recent marijuana initiates was 18.0 years.
Most (63.8 percent) of the recent initiates were younger than age 18 when they
first used.
In 2004, 4.4 million persons had used alcohol for the first
time within the past 12 months. The number of alcohol initiates increased from
3.9 million in 2002 and 4.1 million in 2003. Most (86.9 percent) of the 4.4
million recent alcohol initiates in 2004 were younger than age 21 at the time
of initiation.