Risky Behavior - Substance Use Trends: Adults

This chart shows trends in the use of marijuana/hashish and cocaine — the most commonly used illicit drugs — among three adult age groups from 1985-1999, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA).²⁰ The data are shown in tabular form below (the table below also shows alcohol and tobacco trends by age group).²¹Rates of use of all forms of drugs — legal and illicit — tended to be lower at the end of the time period among all age groups. Despite the overall decline, we observe a seesaw pattern. For example, marijuana use was on the rise in the late 1990s among the older children of the Baby Boom, who were perhaps enjoying those prosperous times. The tabular data show that as with teens, alcohol and cigarettes (legal for most adults) and marijuana are the most popular drugs, and the young use more drugs than do the old.