Illicit
Drug Use and Abuse Statistics
This report presents a first look at results from
the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH), an annual survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized
population of the United States aged 12 years old
or older. The report presents national estimates
of rates of use, numbers of users, and other measures
related to illicit drugs, alcohol,
and tobacco products. Measures related to mental
health problems also are presented, including data
on serious mental illness, depression, and
the co-occurrence of substance use and mental health
problems. The report focuses on trends
between 2007 and 2008 and from 2002 to 2008, as
well as differences across population subgroups
in 2008.
Past Year Perceived Need for and Effort Made to Receive
Specialty Treatment among Persons Aged 12 or Older Needing,
But Not Receiving Treatment for Illicit Drug or Alcohol Use:
2008
Illicit Drug Use
• In 2008, an estimated 20.1 million Americans
aged 12 or older were current (past month) illicit
drug users, meaning they had used an illicit drug
during the month prior to the survey interview.
This estimate represents 8.0 percent of the population
aged 12 years old or older. Illicit drugs
include marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack),
heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type
psychotherapeutics used nonmedically.
• The rate of current illicit drug use among persons
aged 12 or older in 2008 (8.0 percent) was the same as the rate
in 2007 (8.0 percent).
• Marijuana was the most commonly
used illicit drug (15.2 million past month
users). Among persons aged 12 or older, the rate
of past month marijuana use in 2008 (6.1 percent)
was similar to the rate in 2007 (5.8 percent).
• In 2008, there were 1.9 million current
cocaine users aged 12 or older,
comprising 0.7 percent of the population. These
estimates were similar to the number and rate in
2007 (2.1 million or 0.8 percent), but lower than
the estimates in 2006 (2.4 million or 1.0 percent).
• Hallucinogens were used
in the past month by 1.1 million persons (0.4 percent)
aged 12 or older in 2008, including 555,000 (0.2
percent) who had used Ecstasy. These estimates were
similar to the corresponding estimates for 2007.
• There were 6.2 million (2.5 percent) persons
aged 12 or older who used prescription-type
psychotherapeutic drugs nonmedically in
the past month. These estimates were lower than
in 2007 (6.9 million or 2.8 percent).
• The number of past month methamphetamine
users decreased by over half between 2006
and 2008. The numbers were 731,000 in 2006, 529,000
in 2007, and 314,000 in 2008.
• Rates of current use of illicit
drugs in 2008 were higher among young adults
aged 18 to 25 (19.6 percent) than for youths aged
12 to 17 (9.3 percent) and adults aged 26 or older
(5.9 percent). Among young adults, there were no
changes from 2007 to 2008 in the rate of current
use of marijuana (16.5 percent
in 2008), psychotherapeutics (5.9 percent), and
hallucinogens (1.7 percent). The
rate of cocaine use in this age group declined from
2.6 percent in 2005 to 1.5 percent in 2008.
• From 2002 to 2008, there was an increase
among young adults aged 18 to 25 in the rate of
current nonmedical use of prescription pain
relievers (from 4.1 to 4.6 percent) and
in LSD (from 0.1 to 0.3 percent). There were decreases
in the use of inhalants (from 0.5
to 0.3 percent) and methamphetamine (from 0.6 to
0.2 percent).
• Among those aged 50 to 59, the rate of past
month illicit drug use increased
from 2.7 percent in 2002 to 4.6 percent in 2008.
This trend may partially reflect the aging into
this age group of the baby boom cohort, whose lifetime
rate of illicit drug use is higher than those of
older cohorts.
• Among persons aged 12 or older in 2007-2008 who used
pain relievers nonmedically in the past 12 months, 55.9 percent
got the drug they most recently used from a friend or relative
for free. Another 18.0 percent reported they got the drug from
one doctor. Only 4.3 percent got pain relievers from a drug
dealer or other stranger, and 0.4 percent bought them on the
Internet. Among those who reported getting the pain reliever
from a friend or relative for free, 81.7 percent reported in
a follow-up question that the friend or relative had obtained
the drugs from just one doctor.
• Among unemployed
adults aged 18 or older in 2008, 19.6 percent were current illicit
drug users, which was higher than the 8.0 percent of those employed
full time and 10.2 percent of those employed part time. However,
most illicit drug users were employed. Of the 17.8 million current
illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2008, 12.9 million (72.7
percent) were employed either full or part time. The number
of unemployed illicit drug users increased from 1.3 million
in 2007 to 1.8 million in 2008, primarily because of an overall
increase in the number of unemployed persons.
•
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 (4.0 percent), but lower than the
rate in 2002 (4.7 percent). In 2008, the rate was highest among
young adults aged 18 to 25 (12.3 percent).
Dependence
on or Abuse of Specific Illicit Drugs in the Past Year among
Persons Aged 12 or Older: 2008
Data are presented for racial/ethnic groups based on current
guidelines for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data
(Office of Management and Budget [OMB], 1997). Because respondents
were allowed to choose more than one racial group, a "two
or more races" category is presented that includes persons
who reported more than one category among the basic groups listed
in the survey question (white, black or African American, American
Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander,
Asian, Other). Respondents choosing both Native Hawaiian and
Other Pacific Islander but no other categories mentioned above
are classified in the combined "Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander" category instead of the "two or
more race" category. It should be noted that, except for
the "Hispanic or Latino" group, the racial/ethnic
groups discussed in this report include only non-Hispanics.
The category "Hispanic or Latino" includes Hispanics
of any race.
Data also are presented for four U.S. geographic regions and
nine geographic divisions within these regions. These regions
and divisions, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, consist of
the following groups of States:
Northeast
Region - New England Division:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
Vermont; Middle Atlantic Division: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.
Midwest Region
- East North Central Division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Ohio, Wisconsin; West North Central Division: Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
South Region - South
Atlantic Division: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,
Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia,
West Virginia; East South Central Division: Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee; West South Central Division: Arkansas,
Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas.
West Region - Mountain
Division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Utah, Wyoming; Pacific Division: Alaska, California, Hawaii,
Oregon, Washington.
Source:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009).
Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:
National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36,
HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434). Rockville, MD.
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