Use of two drugs popular among youth – Oxycontin and Ecstasy – continued to increase in 2001, according to the newest version of this annual survey. The number of people who had used Ecstasy increased almost 20 percent from 2000, to 8.1 million. However, first-time use dropped by 1.1 million users from 2000. Oxycontin use more than doubled, with 957,000 users in 2001 compared to 399,000 in 2000.
Other noteworthy items: Cigarette use by youth has decreased 2 percentage points since 1999 (13 percent of youth have smoked), and the number of new smokers each year decreased 32 percent. Also, about 10.1 million 12- to 20-year-olds – 28.5 percent of the population in that age group – drank alcohol in 2001. 83 pages. Free online. SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 16-105, Rockville, MD 20857. (301) 443-6239, www.samhsa.gov/oas.
