National Drug Control Strategy - The White House February 2006 - Introduction - Goals and Results for Youth Drug Use

Oct 15, 2026

National Drug Control Strategy outlines a balanced approach to reduce drug use in the United States, emphasizing three pillars: stopping drug use before it starts, healing drug users, and disrupting the market for illicit drugs. Written by The White House in February 2006, it reports measurable progress since 2001, including significant declines in overall teen illicit drug use and in specific drugs such as methamphetamine, marijuana, LSD, steroids, and Ecstasy. It also highlights remaining challenges, including stable cocaine and heroin use and troubling prescription drug abuse, especially Oxycontin.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages43

Reading Time1 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Presidential goals and outcomes

Trends in youth drug use

Drug-specific declines and remaining challenges

National Drug Control Strategy The White House February 2006 National Drug Control Strategy The White House February 2006 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................ Page 1 Chapter 1 .............................................. Page 5 Chapter 2 ............................................. Page 11 Chapter 3 ............................................. Page 17 Introduction When President George W. Bush took office in 2001, drug use had risen to unacceptably high levels. Over the past decade, drug use by young people had nearly doubled, as measured by those who reported having used drugs in the past month: 11 percent of young people had used drugs in the past month in 1991, and 19 percent had done so in 2001. Indeed, in 2000, over half of all 12th gradersin the United States had used an illicit drug at least once in his or her life before graduation. Determined to fight this trend, the President set aggressive goals to reduce drug use in the United States, including reducing youth drug use by 10 percent in two years. That goal has been met and exceeded. To achieve the goal of reducing drug use, the President set out an ambitious, balanced strategy that focuses on three primary elements: stopping drug use before it starts, healing drug users, and disrupting the market for illicit drugs. The President’s strategy is producing results. According to the latest University of Michigan Monitoring the Future survey of youth drug use that was released in December 2005, overall teen drug use has declined significantly since the President took office. Current use of illicit drugs by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined has dropped 19 | Percent ofTeens Using Any Illicit Drug in the Past Month | Progress Toward Two-and Five-Year Goals Current Use of Any Illicit Drug Continues to Decline
20
Baseline

18
16
14
12

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
19.4
2-Year Goal
(10% reduction)
17.3 16.1 15.7 5-Year Goal (25% reduction)

Source: Monitoring the Future (2005). Special tabulations, January 2006. | | --- | --- | percent since 2001. This translates into nearly 700,000 fewer young people using illicit drugs. The survey reports other positive trends for this age group: • The use of methamphetamine by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined has dropped by approximately one-third since 2001. The declines were 34 percent for lifetime use, 30 percent for past-year use, and 36 percent for past-month use. | Any Illicit Drug Use by 8th, 10th, and 12th
Graders Combined | | | --- | --- | | Percent Using in the Past Month |
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
19% decline from 2001
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 | | Source: Monitoring the Future (2005). Special tabulations of 8th, 10th and 12th graders combined. | | | Methamphetamine Use Among 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders Combined, 2001 to 2005
Lifetime Past Year Past Month | | | --- | --- | | Percent Using Methamphetamine | | | Source: Monitoring the Future (2005). Special tabulations of 8th, 10th and 12th graders combined. | | N A T I O N A L D R U G C O N T R O L S T R A T E G Y 1 • Steroid use has dropped dramatically among young people since 2001, particularly in the past year. According to the survey, the use of steroids by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders was down 38 percent for lifetime use, 37 percent for past-year use, and 30 percent for past-month use. • Although marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug among teens, usage rates are declining. Since 2001, marijuana use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined dropped 13 percent for lifetime use, 15 percent for past-year use, and 19 percent for past-month use. Current use of marijuana decreased 28 percent (from 9.2 percent among 8th graders to 6.6 percent) and 23 percent among 10th graders (from 19.8 percent to 15.2 percent) . • There has been a steep decline in LSD use since

FAQs

What three elements does the strategy focus on to reduce drug use?

The strategy focuses on stopping drug use before it starts, healing drug users, and disrupting the market for illicit drugs.

What progress does the document report since 2001 regarding teen drug use?

It reports that overall teen drug use has declined significantly, with current use of illicit drugs dropping 19 percent since 2001, translating into nearly 700,000 fewer young people using illicit drugs.

Which drugs show notable declines, and what problem remains?

The document highlights declines in methamphetamine, marijuana, LSD, steroid use, and Ecstasy. It also notes that important work remains, including stable cocaine and heroin use and troubling prescription drug abuse, particularly increased Oxycontin use.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway