*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1994.07.20 : HHS Releases 1993 Household Drug Survey Date: Wednesday, July 20, 1994 Contact: SAMHSA Press Office, (301) 443-8956 HHS RELEASES 1993 HOUSEHOLD DRUG SURVEY The Department of Health and Human Services today released the results of the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse which show that: o No reportable change in the number of Americans using illicit drugs took place between 1992 and 1993, when the number of drug abusers stood at 11.7 million. o The number of persons who use cocaine weekly persisted at around a half-million in 1993. This aspect of the cocaine problem has shown no signs of abating since 1985. o Illicit drug use, heavy drinking, and smoking go hand in hand among millions of Americans. Of 11 million heavy drinkers in 1993, 26 percent were also current illicit drug users. Among 50 million current smokers, 12 percent were illicit drug users. "The news from this survey is both good and bad," HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala said. "It is good because we have sustained the progress made in stemming American's use of marijuana, cocaine and other illicit drugs. "But the survey also sounds a warning: since 1979, we've seen the number of current users drop, consistently, year after year. Between 1992 and 1993, we saw no such decrease." In the past 14 years, the number of Americans using illicit drugs has declined from 24 million past-month users in 1979 to less than 12 million in 1993. But with no reportable decrease between 1992 and 1993, Shalala said, the new survey points to the need to focus treatment efforts on longer-term, "hard core" drug abusers. "We must enhance and expand treatment options for so-called chronic hard-core drug abusers if we are ever going to solve America's drug problem," she said. "The President has made three significant proposals to expand drug treatment: one in his 1995 budget, a second in his health care reform bill, and a third for treatment in the criminal justice system as part of the crime bill. We need to enact all three." "This survey supports the policies put forth in the National Drug Control Strategy," said Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Lee P. Brown. "We must expand and fund education, treatment and prevention initiatives. There should be no question now about treatment -- study after study shows that treatment does work and can save this country millions in lost productivity in the workplace, and can reduce crime and violence in our communities." The survey is carried out annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to estimate the prevalence of legal and illegal drug use in the U.S., and to monitor the trends in use over time. It is based on a representative sample of the general U.S. population aged 12 and older, including persons living in households and in some group quarters such as dormitories and homeless shelters. The 1993 survey was conducted from January through December 1993. Shift in Drug Use to Older Age Groups Although there was no significant change between 1992 and 1993 in rates of illicit drug use for any age group, the rates of "current" drug use (within last 30 days) have dropped dramatically since 1979 for all groups (12-17, 18-25, and 26-34) except those 35 and older. In 1993, 28 percent of illicit drug users were in the 35 and over group, compared to only 10 percent in 1979. This shift appears to be linked to the aging of the drug using cohorts of the 1970's. (The shift in age composition is also seen in hospital emergency room data collected by DAWN.) Marijuana Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug among the survey population. Sixty percent of all current illicit drug users used only marijuana, and an additional 16 percent used marijuana plus one or more other illicit drugs. About 5.1 million persons used marijuana weekly, unchanged since 1991 but down from 8.9 million in 1985. Cocaine "Current" cocaine users numbered l.3 million, the same as in 1992, down from a peak of 5.3 million in 1985. "Occasional" users (less often than monthly) numbered 3 million in 1993, down from 8.l million in 1985. As noted above, there was no significant change in the number of "weekly" cocaine users, which remained stable at around a half million (476,000). Crack. The estimated number of "current" crack users was less than one-half million, with no indication of increases or decreases since 1991. Other Drugs There were no major changes in 1993 in "current" use of inhalants, hallucinogens, or heroin. However, estimates of heroin use from the survey are considered very conservative due to the probable undercoverage of the population of heroin users. Non-medical Use of Prescription Drugs A significant decrease in the use of tranquilizers for non- medical purposes occurred from 1991 to 1993, but there were no changes in the use of sedatives, stimulants, or analgesics nonmedically in those years. Cigarettes Current cigarette smokers declined from 26 to 24 percent of the survey population from 1992 to 1993. Decreases were apparent in every age group but 12-17 year olds, which remained at around 10 percent. The rate of smoking was highest in the 26-34 year age group (30 percent) and among 18-25 year olds (29 percent). Alcohol In 1993, approximately 103 million persons were "current" drinkers, and 11 million were heavy drinkers (5 or more drinks on 5 or more days in the past 30 days.) Neither category had changed significantly from *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1992. Of the 11 million heavy drinkers, 26 percent also were current illicit drug users. Gender, Race Men continued to have a higher rate (7.4 percent) of illicit drug use than women (4.1 percent). The rate of illicit drug use was 6.8 percent for blacks, 6.2 percent for Hispanics, and 5.5 percent for whites. Seventy-four percent of all current illicit drug users were white, 13 percent black , and 10 percent Hispanic. Education Illicit drug use rates remain highly correlated with educational status. Among 18-34 year olds in 1993, those who had not completed high school had the highest rate of use, 15.4 percent, while college graduates had the lowest rate, 6.0 percent. Employment Current employment status is also highly correlated with rates of illicit drug use, with 11.6 percent of unemployed adults (18 and older) being current drug users in 1993, compared with 6.2 percent of employed adults. However, 71 percent of all current illicit drug users aged 18 and older were employed in 1993. Perception of Risk, Availability In addition to data on the use of drugs, the Household Survey collects information on the respondents' perceptions of the risk of harm from using various drugs, and on the availability of drugs. In 1993, only about half of youths 12-17 felt there is great risk in using marijuana occasionally, or in trying cocaine, PCP, or heroin. This represents little change since 1990. Seventy-seven percent of the overall population associated great risk with regular marijuana use, and the majority perceived great risk in even trying cocaine (67%), PCP (71%), or heroin (75%) once or twice. Fifty-eight percent of the population in 1993 reported that they thought marijuana would be easy for them to get, and 39 percent said the same of cocaine. The percentages saying they believed heroin, LSD, and PCP would be easy to get were 26, 27, 24, respectively. Nine percent of the population reported having been approached in the past month by someone selling drugs, and 11 percent said they had seen people selling drugs in their neighborhood occasionally or more often. Seven percent of whites, 37 percent of blacks and 21 percent of Hispanics reported observing such drug sales. ###