NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow answers some questions on the Monitoring the Future Survey [Terra Sigillata]
On December 14th, the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the findings on adolescent drug use and trends as determined from the 35th annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey (press release). The survey is conducted with NIDA funding* by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Sciences led currently by Dr. Lloyd Johnston. The larger survey began in 1975 with only high-school seniors and was expanded in 1991 to include 8th and 10th graders to improve the ability to measure changes as a population progresses through school. A very detailed white paper on the MTF methodology is available as a PDF from the University of Michigan.
This year's survey included 46,348 students from 386 public and private schools in the United States. The good news is that methamphetamine use and cigarette smoking rates are decreasing in adolescents, although smokeless tobacco use is increasing. Cocaine and hallucinogen use have also declined but previous declines in marijuana use have stabilized. Perhaps the biggest concern is that the use of prescription drugs, opioids in particular, has increased sharply. Prescription drug abuse is increasing in adults but even I'm surprised that kids are getting into the act as well.
An aside - the part where the blogger says things you wouldn't see in formal journalism
Although I'm not a substance abuse researcher, I have taught in the area since 1992 and many drugs of abuse are themselves naturally-occurring plant or fungal products. But I wouldn't say that this blog is on the NIDA radar, so let me share with you this backstory as to why we have this post today:
I've got to hand it to NIDA for their public outreach and responsiveness. They contracted with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and we were approached by their senior account executive, Chris Heydt, for our interest in participating in a live chat session the on the 15th with NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow. The chat had to be canceled at the last moment, understandably given the press interest in this story in the days following the annually anticipated release of the survey results. However, Chris got back to me with apologies and said that Dr. Volkow would respond via e-mail to any questions I had prepared and, lo and behold, I received the following answers yesterday via her staff assistant, Susan Schlossberg.
What I like about NIDA is that they contracted with Ogilvy, a PR firm with a history of respectful cultivation of bloggers as detailed by their 2007 code of ethics in approaching bloggers.
So, NIDA gets it and I'm impressed by the professionalism at Ogilvy.
But, now to the questions I had for Dr. Volkow. I was primarily interested in cultural influences on drug use in adolescents, particularly with regard to substance choice. Most of my 12th grade year's drug abuse was comprised of sitting in my buddy Tommy's Firebird in the Sumner Ave. parking lot of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, drinking warm Budweiser in the soft summer rain (because that's what Bruce Springsteen wrote about in Jungleland.) So, I kicked off my three questions with a reflection on a trend which claimed Pimp C two years ago.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow answers some questions on the Monitoring the Future Survey [Terra Sigillata]
On December 14th, the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the findings on adolescent drug use and trends as determined from the 35th annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey (press release). The survey is conducted with NIDA funding* by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Sciences led currently by Dr. Lloyd Johnston. The larger survey began in 1975 with only high-school seniors and was expanded in 1991 to include 8th and 10th graders to improve the ability to measure changes as a population progresses through school. A very detailed white paper on the MTF methodology is available as a PDF from the University of Michigan.
This year's survey included 46,348 students from 386 public and private schools in the United States. The good news is that methamphetamine use and cigarette smoking rates are decreasing in adolescents, although smokeless tobacco use is increasing. Cocaine and hallucinogen use have also declined but previous declines in marijuana use have stabilized. Perhaps the biggest concern is that the use of prescription drugs, opioids in particular, has increased sharply. Prescription drug abuse is increasing in adults but even I'm surprised that kids are getting into the act as well.
An aside - the part where the blogger says things you wouldn't see in formal journalism
Although I'm not a substance abuse researcher, I have taught in the area since 1992 and many drugs of abuse are themselves naturally-occurring plant or fungal products. But I wouldn't say that this blog is on the NIDA radar, so let me share with you this backstory as to why we have this post today:
I've got to hand it to NIDA for their public outreach and responsiveness. They contracted with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and we were approached by their senior account executive, Chris Heydt, for our interest in participating in a live chat session the on the 15th with NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow. The chat had to be canceled at the last moment, understandably given the press interest in this story in the days following the annually anticipated release of the survey results. However, Chris got back to me with apologies and said that Dr. Volkow would respond via e-mail to any questions I had prepared and, lo and behold, I received the following answers yesterday via her staff assistant, Susan Schlossberg.
What I like about NIDA is that they contracted with Ogilvy, a PR firm with a history of respectful cultivation of bloggers as detailed by their 2007 code of ethics in approaching bloggers.
So, NIDA gets it and I'm impressed by the professionalism at Ogilvy.
But, now to the questions I had for Dr. Volkow. I was primarily interested in cultural influences on drug use in adolescents, particularly with regard to substance choice. Most of my 12th grade year's drug abuse was comprised of sitting in my buddy Tommy's Firebird in the Sumner Ave. parking lot of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, drinking warm Budweiser in the soft summer rain (because that's what Bruce Springsteen wrote about in Jungleland.) So, I kicked off my three questions with a reflection on a trend which claimed Pimp C two years ago.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow answers some questions on the Monitoring the Future Survey [Terra Sigillata]
On December 14th, the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the findings on adolescent drug use and trends as determined from the 35th annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey (press release). The survey is conducted with NIDA funding* by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Sciences led currently by Dr. Lloyd Johnston. The larger survey began in 1975 with only high-school seniors and was expanded in 1991 to include 8th and 10th graders to improve the ability to measure changes as a population progresses through school. A very detailed white paper on the MTF methodology is available as a PDF from the University of Michigan.
This year's survey included 46,348 students from 386 public and private schools in the United States. The good news is that methamphetamine use and cigarette smoking rates are decreasing in adolescents, although smokeless tobacco use is increasing. Cocaine and hallucinogen use have also declined but previous declines in marijuana use have stabilized. Perhaps the biggest concern is that the use of prescription drugs, opioids in particular, has increased sharply. Prescription drug abuse is increasing in adults but even I'm surprised that kids are getting into the act as well.
An aside - the part where the blogger says things you wouldn't see in formal journalism
Although I'm not a substance abuse researcher, I have taught in the area since 1992 and many drugs of abuse are themselves naturally-occurring plant or fungal products. But I wouldn't say that this blog is on the NIDA radar, so let me share with you this backstory as to why we have this post today:
I've got to hand it to NIDA for their public outreach and responsiveness. They contracted with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and we were approached by their senior account executive, Chris Heydt, for our interest in participating in a live chat session the on the 15th with NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow. The chat had to be canceled at the last moment, understandably given the press interest in this story in the days following the annually anticipated release of the survey results. However, Chris got back to me with apologies and said that Dr. Volkow would respond via e-mail to any questions I had prepared and, lo and behold, I received the following answers yesterday via her staff assistant, Susan Schlossberg.
What I like about NIDA is that they contracted with Ogilvy, a PR firm with a history of respectful cultivation of bloggers as detailed by their 2007 code of ethics in approaching bloggers.
So, NIDA gets it and I'm impressed by the professionalism at Ogilvy.
But, now to the questions I had for Dr. Volkow. I was primarily interested in cultural influences on drug use in adolescents, particularly with regard to substance choice. Most of my 12th grade year's drug abuse was comprised of sitting in my buddy Tommy's Firebird in the Sumner Ave. parking lot of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, drinking warm Budweiser in the soft summer rain (because that's what Bruce Springsteen wrote about in Jungleland.) So, I kicked off my three questions with a reflection on a trend which claimed Pimp C two years ago.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...