Vaping among younger adults and binge-drinking among mid-life adults also maintained record-high levels, NIH-supported study shows

The percentages of adults using cannabis and hallucinogens over the past year stayed at historically high levels in 2023, according to the latest findings from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey.

The results show that the prevalence of adults aged 19 to 30 and 35 to 50 who used cannabis and hallucinogens over the past year remained at higher levels compared to previous years.

In contrast, past-year use of tobacco cigarettes remained at all-time low levels among both adult groups.

Past-month and daily alcohol use continued a decade-long decline among those 19 to 30 years old, with binge drinking reaching all-time lows. Among 35-to-50-year-olds, however, the prevalence of binge drinking in 2023 increased from five and 10 years ago.

The Monitoring the Future study is conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research and is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Reports of vaping nicotine or cannabis in the past year among adults 19 to 30 rose over five years, and both trends remained at record highs in 2023. Among adults 35 to 50, the prevalences of nicotine vaping and cannabis vaping stayed steady from the year before, with long-term (five and 10 years) trends not yet observable in this age group as this question was added to the survey for this age group in 2019.

For the first time in 2023, 19-to-30-year-old women reported a higher prevalence of past-year cannabis use than men in the same age group, reflecting a reversal of the gender gap. Conversely, men 35 to 50 maintained a higher prevalence of past-year cannabis use than women of the same age group, consistent with what’s been observed for the past decade.

“Alcohol continues to be the most commonly used substance across age groups, followed by cannabis and nicotine,” said Megan Patrick, ISR research professor and principal investigator of the MTF panel study. “The longer-term trends indicate that cannabis and psychedelic use have been increasing for both young adults and midlife adults, and vaping of nicotine and cannabis have increased among young adults. Some indicators of alcohol use have increased among midlife adults but decreased among young adults. Understanding these population-level patterns should inform our research and public health priorities.”

Since 1975, the Monitoring the Future study has annually surveyed substance use behaviors and attitudes among a nationally representative sample of teens. A longitudinal panel study component of Monitoring the Future conducts follow-up surveys on a subset of these participants (about 20,000 people per year), collecting data from individuals every other year from ages 19 to 30 and every five years after age 30 to track their drug use through adulthood. Participants self-report their drug use behaviors across various periods, including lifetime, past year (12 months), past month (30 days) and other use frequencies depending on the substance type.

Data for the 2023 panel study were collected via online and paper surveys from April 2023 through October 2023. Key findings include:

Cannabis use in the past year and past month remained at historically high levels for both adult groups in 2023. Among adults 19 to 30 years old, past-year, past-month and daily use of cannabis (use on 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days) were reported by approximately 42%, 29% and 10%, respectively. Among adults 35 to 50, reports reached 29%, 19% and 8%, respectively. While these 2023 estimates are not statistically different from last year, they do reflect five and 10-year increases for both age groups.

Cannabis vaping in the past year and past month was reported by 22% and 14% of adults 19 to 30, respectively, and by 9% and 6% of adults 35 to 50 in 2023. For the younger group, these numbers represent all-time study highs and an increase from five years ago, though for the mid-life adult group, they do not reflect a change from years before.

Nicotine vaping among adults 19 to 30 maintained record highs in 2023. Reports of past-year and past-month vaping of nicotine reached 25% and 19%. These percentages represent an increase from five years ago, but not from one year ago. For adults 35 to 50, the prevalence of vaping nicotine remained steady from years before, with 7% and 5% reporting past-year and past-month use.

Hallucinogen use in the past year continued a five-year steep incline for both adult groups, reaching 9% for adults 19 to 30 and 4% for adults 35 to 50 in 2023. Types of hallucinogens reported by participants included LSD, mescaline, peyote, shrooms or psilocybin, and PCP.

Alcohol remains the most used substance reported among adults in the study. Past-year alcohol use among adults 19 to 30 has shown a slight upward trend over the past five years, with 84% reporting in 2023. However, past month drinking (65%), daily drinking (4%), and binge drinking (27%) all remained at study lows in 2023 among adults 19 to 30. These numbers have decreased from 10 years ago. Past-month drinking and binge drinking (defined as having five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks) decreased significantly from the year before for this age group (down from 68% and 31% reported in 2022).

Around 84% of adults 35 to 50 reported past-year alcohol use in 2023, which has not significantly changed from years before. Past-month alcohol use and binge drinking have slightly increased over the past 10 years for this age group; in 2023, past-month alcohol use was at 69% and binge drinking was at 27%. Daily drinking has decreased in this group over the past five years and was at its lowest level ever recorded in 2023 (8%).

Additional data: In 2023, past-month cigarette smoking, past-year nonmedical use of prescription drugs and past-year use of opioid medications (surveyed as “narcotics other than heroin”) maintained five- and 10-year declines for both adult groups. Among adults 19 to 30 years old, past-year use of stimulants (surveyed as “amphetamines”) has decreased for the past decade, whereas for adults 35 to 50, past-year stimulant use has been modestly increasing over 10 years. Additional data include drug use reported by college/noncollege young adults and among various demographic subgroups, including sex and gender and race and ethnicity.

The 2023 survey year was the first time a cohort from the Monitoring the Future study reached 65 years of age; therefore, trends for the 55- to 65-year-olds age group are not yet available.

“The data from 2023 did not show us many significant changes from the year before, but the power of surveys such as Monitoring the Future is to see the ebb and flow of various substance use trends over the longer term,” Patrick said. “As more and more of our original cohorts—first recruited as teens—now enter later adulthood, we will be able to examine the patterns and effects of drug use throughout the life course.

“In the coming years, this study will provide crucial data on substance use trends and health consequences among older populations, when people may be entering retirement and other new chapters of their lives.”

View more information on data collection methods for the Monitoring the Future panel study and how the survey adjusts for the effects of potential exclusions in the report.

Results from the related 2023 Monitoring the Future study of substance use behaviors and related attitudes among teens in the United States were released in December 2023, and 2024 results are upcoming in December 2024.