By Richard A. Miech,  Lloyd D. Johnston, Megan E. Patrick, Patrick M. O’Malley

Substance use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality; it is in large part why, among 17 high-income nations, people in the United States have the highest probability of dying by age 50.1,2,3 Substance use is also an important contributor to many social problems including domestic violence, violence more generally, criminal behavior, suicide, and more—and it is typically initiated during adolescence. It warrants our sustained attention. Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give such attention to substance use among the nation’s youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, teams of research professors at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by the National Institute on Drug Abuse—one of the National Institutes of Health—under a series of peer reviewed, competitive research grants. The 2024 survey, reported here, is the 50th consecutive national survey of 12th grade students and the 34th national survey of 8th and 10th grade students (who were added to the study in 1991). MTF contains ongoing national surveys of both adolescents and adults in the United States. It provides the nation with a vital window into the important but often hidden problem behaviors of use of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and psychotherapeutic drugs used without a doctor’s orders. For nearly five decades, MTF has helped provide a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamic factors that drive some of these problems, and a better understanding of some of their consequences. It has also given policymakers, government agencies, public health professionals, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the field some practical approaches for intervening. A widespread epidemic of illicit drug use emerged in the 1960s among U.S. youth, and since then dramatic changes have occurred in the use of nearly all types of illicit drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco. Of particular importance, as discussed in detail below, are the many new illicit drugs that have emerged, along with new forms of alcoholic beverages and nicotine products. Among the substances and devices that have emerged over the life of the survey are new classes of drugs that include vaping devices, hookah smoking, synthetic marijuana, and drugs taken for performance enhancement. New devices and methods for taking drugs, such as vaporizers and e-cigarettes,number of new substances added to the list over the years substantially outnumbers the number removed because so many substances remain in active use. Throughout these many changes, substance use among the nation’s youth has remained a major concern for parents, educators, health professionals, law enforcement, and policymakers, largely because substance misuse is one of the largest and yet most preventable causes of morbidity and mortality during and after adolescence. The MTF annual monograph series is a key vehicle for disseminating MTF’s epidemiological findings. In addition to this monograph, the series includes a separate, annual monograph that presents prevalence and trends among U.S. adults now ages 19 to 65, including both college students and their age peers who are not attending college (scheduled for publication this summer), as well as an additional, periodic monograph that presents information on risk and protective behaviors for HIV among young adults. All MTF publications, including press releases, are available on the project website at www.monitoringthefuture.org 

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research , 2025. 484p.