New MTF annual report shows marijuana and hallucinogen use are at record levels in both young and midlife adults

The subject of this report is the ongoing Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study, an annual survey of adults 19 to 60 years old, which has been tracking substance use patterns among teens, young adults, and now middle-aged adults since 1975. The 192-page annual report was released last month by the study investigators at the University of Michigan, and it provides information gathered in the MTF panel survey that took place in 2022, as well as long-term trend analyses. For the latter, the researchers focused on two age groups: younger adults aged 19 to 30 and midlife adults aged 35 to 50. Among the most significant trends revealed in the younger adult group: hallucinogen use as well as marijuana and nicotine vaping have risen significantly over the past five years, and in 2022 marijuana use and vaping reached the highest levels ever recorded by MTF. Additionally, marijuana and hallucinogen use has been increasing in the midlife adult group, showing the highest rates ever recorded in 2022. Also in 2022, midlife adults reported the highest prevalence of binge drinking ever. Other trends related to cigarettes, sedatives, non-medical use of opioid medications, and other substance use behaviors also are provided in the report. Its authors underline the fact that substance use is not limited to younger adults and emphasize the need for ongoing research to understand use trends and their health impacts. The MTF panel study now includes over 110,000 individuals, with approximately 28,500 surveyed each year. According to the report authors, “These data, gathered on national samples over such a large portion of the lifespan, are extremely rare and can provide needed insight into the epidemiology, etiology, and life course history of substance use and relevant behaviors, attitudes, and other factors.

The National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program (NAHDAP) distributes both MTF Main and MTF Panel data. Two series of studies make up the Main MTF collection: publicly available cross-sectional survey data and restricted-use cross-sectional survey data. Both contain survey responses gathered from 8th and 10th graders and 12th graders, annually between 1975 and 2021, with the 2022 data to be released this year. The latest collection that NAHDAP has released of the MTF Panel is Monitoring the Future: Restricted-Use Panel Data, United States, 1976-2019 (ICPSR 37072). More recent years of the panel study are expected to be released through NAHDAP in the near future, including the 2022 data seen in this report’s analysis.