Drug Abuse in Different Ages, Races & Drug Testing
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) obtains information on nine different categories of illicit drug use: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and nonmedical use of prescription-type pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives. In these categories, hashish is included with marijuana, and crack is considered a form of cocaine. Several drugs are grouped under the hallucinogens category, including LSD, PCP, peyote, mescaline, mushrooms, and "Ecstasy" (MDMA). Inhalants include a variety of substances, such as amyl nitrite, cleaning fluids, gasoline, paint, and glue. The four categories of prescription-type drugs (pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives) cover numerous drugs available through prescriptions and sometimes illegally "on the street." Methamphetamine is considered a type of stimulant. Respondents are asked to report only uses of drugs that were not prescribed for them or drugs they took only for the experience or feeling they caused. Over-the-counter drugs and legitimate uses of prescription drugs are not included. NSDUH reports combine the four prescription-type drug groups into a category referred to as "any psychotherapeutics."
Estimates of "any illicit drug use" reported from NSDUH reflect use of any of the nine substance categories listed above. Use of alcohol and tobacco products, while illegal for youths, are not included in these estimates.
Prevalence, by Type of Drug. In 2003, an estimated 19.5 million Americans aged 12 or older were current illicit drug users, meaning they had used an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview. This estimate represents 8.2 percent of the population aged 12 years old or older. There was no change in the overall rate of illicit drug use between 2002 and 2003. In 2002, there were an estimated 19.5 million illicit drug users (8.3 percent).
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with 14.6 million current users (6.2 percent of the population) in 2003. An estimated 2.3 million persons (1.0 percent) were current cocaine users, 604,000 of whom used crack (0.3 percent). Hallucinogens were used by 1.0 million persons (0.4 percent). There were an estimated 119,000 current heroin users (0.1 percent). All of these estimates are similar to estimates for 2002.
The number of current users of Ecstasy decreased between 2002 and 2003, from 676,000 (0.3 percent) to 470,000 (0.2 percent). Although there were no significant changes in the past month use of other hallucinogens, there were significant declines in past year use of LSD (from 1 million to 558,000) and in past year overall hallucinogen use (from 4.7 million to 3.9 million) between 2002 and 2003, as well as in past year use of Ecstasy (from 3.2 million to 2.1 million).
Of the 8.8 million current users of illicit drugs other than marijuana in 2003, 6.3 million were current users of psychotherapeutic drugs. This represents 2.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older. Of those who reported current use of any psychotherapeutics, 4.7 million used pain relievers, 1.8 million used tranquilizers, 1.2 million used stimulants, and 0.3 million used sedatives. These estimates are all similar to the corresponding estimates for 2002.
Pregnant Women. Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44 years, 4.3 percent reported using illicit drugs in the month prior to their interview during 2002 and 2003. This rate was significantly lower than the rate among women aged 15 to 44 who were not pregnant (10.4 percent). (These estimates are based on combined 2002 and 2003 NSDUH data.)
Race/Ethnicity. Rates of current illicit drug use varied significantly among the major racial/ethnic groups in 2003. The rate of illicit drug use was highest among American Indians or Alaska Natives (12.1 percent), persons reporting two or more races (12.0 percent), and Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders (11.1 percent). Rates were 8.7 percent for blacks, 8.3 percent for whites, and 8.0 percent for Hispanics. Asians had the lowest rate of current illicit drug use at 3.8 percent. There were no statistically significant changes between 2002 and 2003 in the rates of current illicit drug use for any racial/ethnic group.
Employment. Current employment status was highly correlated with rates of current illicit drug use in 2003. An estimated 18.2 percent of unemployed adults aged 18 or older were current illicit drug users compared with 7.9 percent of those employed full time and 10.7 percent of those employed part time. Although the rate of drug use was higher among unemployed persons compared with those from other employment groups, most drug users were employed. Of the 16.7 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2003, 12.4 million (74.3 percent) were employed either full or part time.
Frequency of Use. In 2003, 12.2 percent of past year marijuana users used marijuana on 300 or more days in the past 12 months. This translates into 3.1 million persons using marijuana on a daily or almost daily basis over a 12-month period. This was the same number as in 2002. However, the number of youths aged 12 to 17 using marijuana daily or almost daily declined from 358,000 in 2002 to 282,000 in 2003. The number of youths using marijuana on 20 or more days in the past month declined from 603,000 in 2002 to 482,000 in 2003.
Driving Under the Influence of Illicit Drugs. In 2003, an estimated 10.9 million persons reported driving under the influence of an illicit drug during the past year. This corresponds to 4.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older. The rates were 14.1 percent among young adults aged 18 to 25 and 3.1 percent among adults aged 26 or older. These rates were all similar to the 2002 rates.
Source: Weekly Reader Survey on Drugs and Drinking
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