Survey Reports Dip in Teen Drug Use

Teen use of marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes dropped slightly across all age groups, and most adolescents reported a greater awareness of the risks associated with those activities, according to an annual federal survey of high school students. The survey, known as the Monitoring the Future Study, has tracked teen drug use since 1975. For this year’s survey, a nationally representative sample of nearly 50,000 students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades in public and private schools completed a self-administered questionnaire. The survey recorded declines in cigarette smoking by respondents at all three grade levels.