Illicit Drug Use by Americans Increased in 2001, Federal Survey Finds
Almost two million more Americans used illicit drugs in 2001 than in 2000, according to a new study released yesterday by HHS, USA Today reports. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the largest study of drug use in the country, questioned 70,000 people over the age of 12, (Kolchik, USA Today, 9/6). The following are results from the survey:
- Overall, 7.1% of the nation's population, or 15.9 million people over the age of 12, used an illicit drug in the month prior to the survey, compared to 6.3% of the population in 2000.
- Among youths ages 12 to 17, 10.8% reported using an illicit drug in the month before the survey, up from 9.7% in 2000. Among young adults age 18 to 25, use of illicit drugs increased from 15.9% in 2000 to 18.8% in 2001 (HHS release, 9/5).
- The percentage of people who reported using marijuana increased from 4.8% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2001 (Chatterjee, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/6).
- The number of people who have ever used Ecstasy reached 8.1 million in 2001, up from 6.5 million in 2000. In 2000, an estimated 1.9 million people used Ecstasy for the first time, up from just 700,000 in 1998. About 786,000 people were listed as current users in 2001.
- The number of people that used the prescription painkiller OxyContin for illicit purposes at least once increased from 399,000 in 2000 to 957,000 in 2001 (HHS release, 9/5).
Charles Curie, the director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the HHS department that sponsored the study, said that peer pressure and the acceptance of marijuana use attributed to the overall increase in drug use. According to John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the increase in marijuana use can be blamed on a "fundamental misunderstanding" put forth by the "baby boomer" generation that "marijuana [is] safe and should be legal," the Inquirer reports. "We have sent the wrong message, and we have to correct that," Walters said. Based on the study results, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said the administration will propose an increase in funding for anti-drug campaigns, community organizations and faith-based groups (Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/6). Complete results of the survey can be found online. NPR's "Morning Edition" today reported on the drug use survey (Neighmond, "Morning Edition," NPR, 9/6). The full segment will be available after noon ET online. In addition, NPR's "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday" today will include in the first hour of the program a discussion of the use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana following the Sept. 11 attacks (Flatow, "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday," NPR, 9/6). Check local NPR listings for show times. The program will be available in RealPlayer Audio after 6 p.m. ET online.
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