Drugs - Statistics

By Jerry Price - Mar 13, 2006 -

  • In 2003, an estimated 19.5 million Americans, or 8.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older, were current illicit drug users. Current illicit drug use means use of an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview.
  • 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).
  • The rate of current illicit drug use among youths aged 12 to 17 did not change significantly between 2002 (11.6 percent) and 2003 (11.2 percent), and there were no changes for any specific drug. The rate of current marijuana use among youths was 8.2 percent in 2002 and 7.9 percent in 2003. There was a significant decline in lifetime marijuana use among youths, from 20.6 percent in 2002 to 19.6 percent in 2003. There also were decreases in rates of past year use of LSD (1.3 to 0.6 percent), Ecstasy (2.2 to 1.3 percent), and methamphetamine (0.9 to 0.7 percent).
  • Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with a rate of 6.2 percent (14.6 million) in 2003. An estimated 2.3 million persons (1.0 percent) were current cocaine users, 604,000 of whom used crack. Hallucinogens were used by 1.0 million persons, and there were an estimated 119,000 current heroin users. All of these 2003 estimates are similar to the estimates for 2002.
  • The number of current users of Ecstasy (i.e., MDMA) 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).
  • An estimated 6.3 million persons were current users of psychotherapeutic drugs taken non-medically. This represents 2.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older. An estimated 4.7 million used pain relievers, 1.8 million used tranquilizers, 1.2 million used stimulants, and 0.3 million used sedatives. The 2003 estimates are all similar to the corresponding estimates for 2002.
  • There was a significant increase in lifetime non-medical use of pain relievers between 2002 and 2003 among persons aged 12 or older, from 29.6 million to 31.2 million. Specific pain relievers with statistically significant increases in lifetime use were Vicodin^®, Lortab®, or Lorcet®^ (from 13.1 million to 15.7 million); Percocet^®, Percodan®, or Tylox®^ (from 9.7 million to 10.8 million); Hydrocodone (from 4.5 million to 5.7 million); OxyContin^®^ (from 1.9 million to 2.8 million); methadone (from 0.9 million to 1.2 million); and Tramadol (from 52,000 to 186,000).
  • Rates of current illicit drug use varied significantly among the major racial/ethnic groups in 2003. Rates were 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 at 3.8 percent.
  • An estimated 18.2 percent of unemployed adults aged 18 or older were current illicit drug users in 2003 compared with 7.9 percent of those employed full time and 10.7 percent of those employed part time. However, 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.

Highlights of Findings: Illicit Drug Use 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, (Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) [Accessed November 1, 2005]

  • The percentage of teens who know a friend or classmate who has abused prescription drugs jumped 86 percent;
  • The percentage of teens who know a friend or classmate who has used Ecstasy is up 28 percent; and
  • The percentage of teens who know a friend or classmate who has used illegal drugs such as acid, cocaine, or heroin is up 20 percent.
  • Twelve to 17-year olds who see three or more R-rated movies in a typical month are seven times likelier to smoke cigarettes, six times likelier to try marijuana, and five times likelier to drink alcohol, compared to teens who do not watch R-rated movies.
  • Teens who report that half or more of their friends are sexually active are at nearly six times the risk for substance abuse as those teens with no sexually active friends.
  • Forty-two percent of 12- to 17-year olds (11 million) say they can buy marijuana within a day, and 21 percent (5.5 million) can buy marijuana in an hour or less.

Joseph A. Califano, Jr., National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse X: Teens and Parents (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University) August 2005

Further Learning

Learn more about: Family, Addictions, Substance Abuse