Prevalence of the Use of Federally Banned Substances in the US Among People Aged 12 or Older

"Among people aged 12 or older in 2023, 70.5 million people used illicit drugs in the past year (Figure 12). The most commonly used illicit drug in the past year was marijuana, which was used by 61.8 million people. In the past year, 8.8 million people used hallucinogens, and 8.6 million people misused prescription pain relievers. Smaller numbers of people were past year users or misusers of the other illicit drugs shown in Figure 12.³³

"Any Illicit Drug Use

"Among people aged 12 or older in 2023, 24.9 percent (or 70.5 million people) used illicit drugs in the past year (Figures 12 and 13 and Table A.5B). The percentage was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (39.0 percent or 13.3 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (23.9 percent or 53.5 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (14.7 percent or 3.8 million people).

"By Race/Ethnicity

"The percentage of people aged 12 or older in 2023 who used illicit drugs in the past year was higher among American Indian or Alaska Native (36.7 percent) or Multiracial people (36.2 percent) than among White (26.1 percent), Hispanic (21.6 percent), or Asian people (12.4 percent) (Figure 14 and Table B.8B). The percentage also was higher among Multiracial people than among Black people (27.7 percent). Black or White people were more likely to have used illicit drugs in the past year compared with Hispanic people.

"Asian people were less likely to have used illicit drugs in the past year compared with people in other racial or ethnic groups. Estimates for illicit drug use in the past year did not differ significantly among Black or White people. The estimate of illicit drug use in the past year could not be calculated with sufficient precision for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people.¹⁵"