Survey Says Teen Marijuana Use Up

The number of 13-year-olds who have used an illegal drug has increased to 16 percent this year from 14.5 percent in 2009, a survey on drug abuse says.

Marijuana use is also up among high school seniors, sophomores and eighth-graders, according to the survey.

The Monitoring the Future Survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, found more high school seniors admit to smoking marijuana more frequently than cigarettes in a month’s time.

“Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment and motor skills, but research tells us that about 1 in 6 people who start using it as adolescents become addicted,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, NIDA director.

“Mixed messages about drug legalization, particularly marijuana, may be to blame,” Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said. “Such messages certainly don’t help parents who are trying to prevent kids from using drugs.”

Teens surveyed also seem less likely to believe that regular marijuana smoking is harmful. The percentage of 10th- and 12th-graders with a negative perception of pot is down from 59.5 percent in 2009 to 57.2 percent in 2010 for 10-graders, and from 52.4 percent in 2009 to 46.8 percent in 2010 for 12th-graders.

Here’s a breakdown of more of the results:

– Ecstasy use is up among 8th- and 10th-graders by one percent to 2.4 percent and 4.7 percent respectively – Vicodin abuse decreased in 12th-graders to 8 percent from around 9.7 percent the past four years – Binge drinking has decreased to 23.2 percent from 25.2 percent in 2009 and from the peak of 31.5 percent in 1998

Overall, 46,482 students from 396 public and private schools participated in this survey, which has been conducted over the past 35 years.

MTF is one of three major surveys sponsored by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services that provides data on substance use among youth.