Prevalence of past month use reported by high school seniors, 1975-2020

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Self-report Behaviors

Q:	What are the trends in past month use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana among high school seniors?
A:	Past month use of alcohol and cigarettes have declined since 1997 while marijuana use has generally increased since 2006.

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Trends in self-reported cigarette and marijuana use have moved in opposite directions. Cigarette use among high school seniors has been on the decline since the late 1990s; by 2019, the percent of seniors who used cigarettes in the last month reached its lowest level since at least 1975. Conversely, the percent of high school seniors who reported past month use of marijuana has grown and, since 2009, more seniors reported recent marijuana use than cigarette use.
The decline in past month use of alcohol and cigarettes reported by high seniors was interrupted in the last year, as the proportion seniors using these substances increased between 2019 and 2020; conversely, the proportion of seniors reporting past month use of marijuana declined in the last year.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03511.asp?qaDate=2020. Released on August 30, 2021.

Data Source: Adapted from Johnston, L. D., Miech, R. A., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Schulenberg, J. E., & Patrick, M. E. (2021). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2020: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan.