Declines in rates of drug and alcohol use among teenagers that began during the COVID-19 pandemic have continued, according to the annual Monitoring the Future study.
The study, published in December 2024, tracks use of illicit substances among adolescents. The study has surveyed 8th, 10th and 12th graders about substance use since 1991.
In 2024, 67% of students in 12th grade reported abstaining from alcohol, marijuana and nicotine use in the past 30 days, the highest rate of abstention since the question was introduced in 2017.
"The 2024 result indicates that the lowered levels of student drug use after the pandemic onset are lasting and, in fact, continue to drop even further," the study's authors wrote.
Here are five other findings to note:
- In 2024, 80% in 10th grade students reported abstaining from alcohol, marijuana and nicotine in the past 30 days, compared to 69% in 2017. Among 8th grade students, 90% reported using no illicit substances, compared to 87% in 2017.
- Use of nicotine pouches doubled among 12th graders from 2023 to 2024, though overall rates were low. In 2024, 6% of 12th graders reported using nicotine pouches, up from 3% in 2023. Among 10th graders, 3% reported using nicotine pouches, and 1% of 8th graders reported using the products.
- Rates of alcohol consumption among students surveyed has declined since 1997. In 2024, 42% of 12th graders surveyed reported using alcohol at some point in the last 12 months, down from 75% in 1997. In 2024, 13% of 8th grade students reported using alcohol in the past year, down from 46% in 1997.
- Rates of marijuana use remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2020, and began to decline after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among 12th and 10th grade students surveyed, 2024 rates of marijuana use were the lowest in the past three decades.
- Rates of nicotine vaping peaked in 2019, and have declined since. In 2024, 21% of 12th grade students reported nicotine vaping, compared to 35% in 2020 and 19% in 2017.
Read the full report here.