Monitoring the Future Study: Cannabis and Hallucinogenic Use Up Among Adults, Binge Drinking Down

The latest Monitoring the Future Survey, funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that past 30-day cannabis use and the use of hallucinogenic drugs among adults aged 19 to 30 and 35 to 50 in 2023 remained at “historically high levels” while 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. 

Binge drinking among 35- to 50-year-olds in 2023 did increase from five and 10 years ago, according to the survey.   

In a statement, Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), noted that researchers “have seen that people at different stages of adulthood are trending toward use of drugs like cannabis and psychedelics and away from tobacco cigarettes.” 

“These findings underscore the urgent need for rigorous research on the potential risks and benefits of cannabis and hallucinogens – especially as new products continue to emerge.” — Volkow in a press release 

The survey found that among adults 19 to 30 years old, about 42% reported cannabis use in the past year, 29% in the past month, and 10% daily, defined as use on 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days. Adults 35 to 50, reported rates of use reached 29%, 19%, and 8%, respectively. The survey notes that the 2023 estimates are not statistically different from those of 2022, but do reflect five- and 10-year increases for both age groups.   

Hallucinogen use in the past year reached 9% for adults 19 to 30 and 4% for adults 35 to 50 in 2023. Respondents reported using LSD, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin, and PCP. 

The survey found alcohol remains the most used substance reported among adults, with past-year alcohol use among adults 19 to 30 showing a slight upward trend over the past five years, with 84% reporting use in 2023. However, the survey found that past month drinking (65%), daily drinking (4%), and binge drinking (27%) all remained at study lows in 2023 among adults 19 to 30. 

Megan Patrick, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan and principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future panel study, noted that the 2023 data “did not show…many significant changes from the year before” but that as more and more of the original cohorts, first recruited as teens, enter later adulthood, researchers will be able to examine the patterns and effects of drug use throughout the course of their lives.