A new report determined how many kids are using various drugs.
From February through June 2022, the Monitoring the Future investigators collected 31,438 surveys from students enrolled across 308 public and private schools in the United States. The completed survey from 2022 is nationally representative and represents about 75% of the sample size of a typical year’s data collection.
The report found that cannabis use remained stable for all three grades surveyed, with 8.3% of eighth graders, 19.5% of 10th graders, and 30.7% of 12th graders reporting cannabis use in the past year. Notably, 6.0% of eighth graders, 15.0% of 10th graders, and 20.6% of 12th graders reported vaping cannabis within the past year, reflecting a stable trend at the pre-pandemic level among eighth and 12th graders, and a small increase in reported use among 10th graders, though reported use among 10th graders in 2022 is still significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
Since marijuana has become legal in Montana CJ Reichelt the Supervisor of the Tri-Agency Drug Task Force and assistant Havre Police Chief reports finding slightly more marijuana amongst kids.
“There’s increase, we’ve seen some vape cartridges and marijuana being found on younger kids. It’s more readily available like alcohol, so it has increased a bit.”-CJ Reichelt
