The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a summary of drug use data from 2025 on August 12 of this year.
The data is compiled from the Monitoring the Future Longitudinal Panel Study that has been examining self-reported drug use among those aged 19-65 since 1976.
Here are a few direct quotations from the NIH report:
Cannabis:
In 2025, adults in the United States reported using cannabis at or near record-high levels, continuing a long-term trend of increasing use.
Nicotine vaping:
Nicotine vaping also remained high among young adults.
Vaping, nicotine pouch, tobacco, and alcohol:
…increased levels of cannabis and nicotine vaping and pouch use coincided with historically low rates of cigarette smoking and a decline in alcohol consumption, continuing patterns seen in recent years
Heroin:
…a slight increase in self-reported heroin use among young adults aged 19 to 30, marking the first significant uptick and highest level in about 10 years.
Daily cannabis use, ages 35-50:
significantly higher rates of daily cannabis use than last year, increasing from 6.6% in 2024 to 8.5% in 2025.
Psychedelics:
Another significant change, also among young adults, was a decrease in psychedelics use over the past year, from 8.9% in 2024 to 7.2% in 2025. This decline follows what has been an increasing trend over the last decade.
Sleeping medications (young adults):
nonmedical use of sleeping medications in the past 12 months…significantly increased from 2.0% in 2024 to 3.0% the following year.
Suggested Reading
“Harms of Use”: A List of References. October 24, 2019.
