It’s no surprise that since marijuana has become legalized in several states that addiction has risen in recent years. This is particularly true in college-aged young adults. Vaping has also increased, with some people having fatal results from smoking a black market product. These concerning facts, along with others, are the main focus of today’s blog, so keep reading to learn the most recent young adult drug addiction facts.
Recent Trends in Drug Use Among Young Adults Ages 19-28
In the past five years, substance abuse in young adults continues to increase for young adults over the age of 18, according to Monitoring the Future (MTF).
- Illicit drugs – Data on drug use in the young adult community of ages 19 to 28 shows an increase in any illicit drug abuse in the last five years, totaling 42.8 percent in 2018. In 2006, it was 32.1 percent, so an increase of nearly 10 percent increase in twelve years, and an increase of 6.2 percent in the last five years, that is in 2013. 30-day use of any illicit drug also saw a significant increase of 4.3 percent, rising to 25.9 percent in 2018. Interestingly, these rises have primarily been due to marijuana use increases.
- Marijuana use showed a 1.6 increase in one year to 39 percent in 2018 for 19-28-year-olds, up from 27.7 percent in 2006, the most recent low point. Today’s numbers are the highest in three decades, above the 36.5 percent frequency in 1986 when tracking began for the age group. An increase of 7 percent occurred in the same age span in the last five years. Furthermore, 30-day marijuana use also increased, notably by 5 percent in those five years — the highest levels in the 33 years of MTF monitoring.
- Vaping Marijuana questions were added to two forms of surveys in 2017 and 2018, with 12.6 percent and 15.6 percent annual usage among the 19-28 age group, which showed a substantial 3.1 percent increase in 2018. For ages 19-20, there were 12 percent and 17 percent respectively; 11 percent and 17 percent for ages 21 and 22, 17 percent and 17 percent for ages 23 and 24, and 11 percent and 16 percent for ages 22-25. It was even with ages 25 and 26, with 11 percent in 2017 and 2018.
- Synthetic marijuana annual use remained virtually unchanged in 2018 at only 1.6 percent, which is down from the 7.4 percent seen in 2011 when drug use of this drug was first measured; the five-year decrease from 2013 was significant and parallelled a deep decline in synthetic marijuana use.
- Hallucinogens and LSD showed a slight one-year increase in 2018, but a significant increase in 5 years. The annual use of hallucinogens rose from 3.9 percent to 5.6 percent between 2013 and 2018. LSD use rose considerably from 2 percent to 3.9 percent.
- Cocaine (any type including crack and cocaine powder) among young adults showed a non-significant rise in 2018 to 6 percent, but still up from an all-time low of 3.9 percent in 2013. Over the past five years, an increase of 2.1 percent is The annual use of cocaine – other than crack (typically in powdered form) – remained relatively stable over three years (6.2 percent in 2018). This was a major increase of 2.5 percentage points. However, the annual use of crack declined slightly over the past five years from 0.5 percent to 0.2 percent, indicating that this drug is not favored among high school graduates at least.
Call Ardu Recovery Center for Drug Addiction
As you can see, drug abuse continues for young adults, and those with addictions have their lives severely altered. To get help in overcoming drug addiction, please reach out to our staff and let us get you or a loved one’s life back. Contact us today.
