Substance Use By US Youth Continued Its Decline In 2023

"Alcohol use, marijuana use, and nicotine vaping all decreased in 2024 in 12th grade, in 10th grade, and in 8th grade.

"For alcohol, significant decreases in 12th and 10th grade continued a long standing decline that began in the late 1990s, more than two decades ago. The percentage of students who used any alcohol in the past 12 months in 2024 was 42% in 12th grade (compared to 75% in 1997), 26% in 10th grade (compared to 65% in 1997), and 13% in 8th grade (compared to 46% in 1997). These declines are evident in specific survey questions that ask about use of beer, wine, and liquor.

"For marijuana, decreases in use among students are a more recent development. In all grades, the percentage that used marijuana in the past 12 months hovered within a tight window of just a few percentage points in the twenty years from 2000 to 2020. The results in 2021, the first year measured after the pandemic onset, showed that large and substantial declines in marijuana use took place in all grades. In 12th and 10th grades, these declines have since continued, and past 12- month use levels in 2024 were the lowest in the past three decades, at 26% and 16%, respectively. In 8th grade, the percentage in 2024 was 7%, where it has stayed for the past four years after dropping from a pre-pandemic level of 11% in 2020.

"For nicotine vaping, the 2024 declines continue a 180-degree turn centered around the pandemic onset. Prior to the pandemic, use levels surged from 2017 to 2019 and then held steady in 2020. Large declines took place during the pandemic and have since continued to the point where the 2024 levels for past 12-month use are close to where they started in 2017, the first year that questions on nicotine vaping were included on the survey. Specifically, past 12-month use was 21% in 12th grade (compared to 35% in 2020 and 19% in 2017), 15% in 10th grade (compared to 31% in 2020 and 16% in 2017), and 10% in 8th grade (compared to 17% in 2020 and 10% in 2017)."