Teen use of illicit drugs continued to decline in 2004, according to the latest survey of 50,000 students in the Monitoring The Future (MTF) study.  The survey found that 15 percent of eighth-graders, 31 percent of 10th-graders and 39 percent of 12th-graders used drugs in the previous year -- all down from the year before.  "There are now 600,000 fewer teens using drugs than there were in 2001," said John Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).  "This is real progress.  We know that if we can prevent kids from trying drugs in their teenage years, we dramatically reduce the likelihood that they will go on to have problems later in life." 

The proportion of American teens that reported using marijuana -- the most widely used of the illicit drugs -- also continued declining.  The study's principal investigator, Lloyd Johnston, credits advertising campaigns by the Partnership and ONDCP for contributing to both the reported decline of marijuana use and an increase in the number of students who view marijuana use as dangerous. 

One area of concern highlighted by researchers is a rise in the use of inhalants.  This year inhalant use continued to increase among eighth grade students, and for the the first time in recent years increased among 10th and 12th grade students as well.

The nationally projectable study was conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research under grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  The full survey is available at www.monitoringthefuture.org.