New Report: Youth Drug Use Continues Downward Trend
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ) today announced that current illicit drug use among youth ages 12-17 continues to decline.  Among 12-17 year olds, overall use is down 15% and marijuana use down 17% since 2002.

The full survey findings are available  online . 

This survey corroborates the findings of the 2005 Monitoring the Future Survey which reflected a 19% decrease among teenagers from 2001 to 2005.

To view the Monitoring the Future survey click here.

D.A.R.E. America President Charlie Parsons stated, "This is real progress, and although we cannot take complete credit, there is no question that D.A.R.E. is a key component of the efforts made to achieve these results. I congratulate all D.A.R.E. officers for their continued dedication and commitment to helping the nation's children resist drugs and violence." 

Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, called the  trends highlighted  in the report "encouraging," and drug czar John Walters said that American teens are "getting the message that using drugs limits their futures, and they are turning away from the destructive patterns and cruelly misinformed perceptions about substance abuse that have so damaged previous generations."

Current Marijuana Use Among Youth is 17% Lower

in 2005 Compared to 2002 (PDF)