Teen drug use in the United States has reached historic lows in 2024, according to data from the Monitoring the Future study, a 50-year initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health. Alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine use among eighth, 10th, and 12th graders has declined dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic, with abstention rates hitting new highs. Non-heroin narcotic use, such as opioids like OxyContin and Percocet, also fell to unprecedented levels.
Experts are surprised that these trends, initially attributed to pandemic-related disruptions, have continued even as normalcy returned. “Kids who were in eighth grade at the start of the pandemic will be graduating this year, and they’ve set a remarkable precedent for abstention,” said Richard Miech, lead researcher of the survey. Rates of alcohol and marijuana use for 12th graders dropped significantly, and nicotine vaping declined across the board. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse praised the trend as “unprecedented,” emphasizing the need to explore its causes to ensure the positive momentum endures.