Detailed Analysis of Differences in Drug Use Between 1996 and 1997 (Tables 2.9 to 2.11)

Estimates of lifetime, past year, and past month use in 1996 and in 1997 of all 17 of the NHSDA types of substances are presented in Tables 2.9 to 2.11 for each of the four standard age groups. Age-specific rates of use for any illicit drug, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and cigarettes shown in Tables 2.5 to 2.8 for the years 1996 and 1997 are repeated here, but prevalences of use of the less commonly used illicit substances also are included.

Rates of lifetime use did not differ significantly between 1996 and 1997 for any drug or age group, with only two exceptions (see Table 2.9). More youths aged 12 to 17 had ever used cocaine (3%) and crack cocaine (1.3%) in 1997 than in 1996 (1.9% and 0.7%, respectively). Fewer middle adults aged 26 to 34 had ever used cocaine in 1997 (18%) than was reported by those aged 26 to 34 years old in 1996 (21%). Also, lifetime nonmedical use of prescription-type stimulants (5%) and sedatives (2%) was lower among the middle adults aged 26 to 34 in 1997 than was lifetime use of the same substances among the same-aged persons in 1996 (7% and 3%, respectively).

As shown in Table 2.10, past year use of all substances by all age groups did not differ significantly between 1996 and 1997, except that in 1997 more youths aged 12 to 17 had used marijuana (16% in 1997 vs. 13% in 1996), cocaine (2.2% vs. 1.4%), and crack cocaine (0.8% vs. 0.4%). Similar to the pattern of differences between 1996 and 1997 lifetime use, nonmedical use of both stimulants (1.3%) and sedatives (0.5%) in the past year by middle adults aged 26 to 34 was more prevalent in 1996 than in 1997 (0.7% vs. 0.2%, respectively).

Although current use of all substances differed little from 1996 to 1997 among the total population and among the two older age groups, the rates of past month use of some drugs differed in 1997 from the rates in 1996 among youths aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25 (see Table 2.11). Comparing past month use in 1997 with 1996, significantly more youths aged 12 to 17 in 1997 than members of this age group in 1996 used any illicit drug (11% in 1997 vs. 9% in 1996), marijuana (9% vs. 7%), and tranquilizers (0.5% vs. 0.2%). On the other hand, past month use was reported in 1997 by significantly fewer young adults aged 18 to 25 than had been reported by same-aged persons in 1996 for cocaine (1.2% in 1997 vs. 2.0% in 1996), heroin (0.1% vs. 0.4%), and prescription-type analgesics (1.3% vs. 2.0%). Also, rates of "binge" drinking (28%) and past month use of smokeless tobacco (5%) among young adults aged 18 to 25 were lower in 1997 than in 1996 (32% and 6%, respectively). The only other significant difference between 1996 and 1997 rates of current use occurred for past month use of cocaine by persons aged 26 to 34, which declined from a prevalence of 1.5% in 1996 to a rate of 0.9% in 1997.

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.