2011 Monitoring the Future Study Results Show Encouraging Reductions in Specific Drug Categories

 2011 Monitoring the Future Study Results Show Encouraging Reductions in Specific Drug Categories

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study is a long-term epidemiological study that surveys trends in legal and illicit drug use among American adolescents in 8^th, 10^th and 12^th grades.

The survey is conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, funded by research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  MTF results are important to us in Ulster County as it gives us national comparison data as we review the results of our biannual Ulster County Youth Development Survey.

A Fact Sheet released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy regarding the recently released 2011 survey results report that a number of drug categories showed significant reductions between 2010 and 2011 for some grades:

·        Past-year use of Vicodin among 10^th graders (7.7% to 7.0%);

·        Past-year use of any illicit drug, including inhalants, among 8^th graders (20.3% to 18.2%);

·        Past-year use of inhalants among 8^th graders (8.1% to 7.0%);

·        Past-year use of inhalants among 10^th graders (5.7% to 4.5%);

·        Past-year use of crack cocaine among 12 graders (1.4% to 1.0%);

·        Past-year use of amphetamines among 10^th graders (7.6% to 6.6%);

·        Past year use of tranquilizers among 8^th graders (2,8 to 2.0);

·        Past-year use of over-the-counter cough/cold medicine among 12^th graders (6.6% to 5.3%);

·        Past month use of hallucinogens other than LSD among 12^th graders (1.5% to 1.2%);

·        Past-year and past-month use of Ecstasy among 8^th graders (2.4% to 1.7% and 1.1% to 0.6%, respectively); and

·        Past-year use of androstenedione (a steroid) among 12^th graders (1.5% to 0.7%)

Other data from the survey showed continued decreases in the use of alcohol and tobacco products for some grades, as well as numerous declines among all grades in the perceived availability of specific substances.

In Ulster County, our Youth Development Survey showed significant declines in:

·        Past-30 day use of alcohol among 8th graders (15.0% to 12.8%) and 12 graders (48.6% to 43.5%)

• Past-30 day use of cigarettes for 8^th graders (6.0% to 4.2%) and 12 graders (19.9% to 13.4%)
• Past-30 day use of chewing tobacco for 12^th graders (7.5% to 4.4%)
• Past-30 day use of prescription painkillers for 12 graders (10.2% to 8.3%)