About College-Age & Young Adults
This section features the most recent Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on substance use in college-age adults ages 19 to 22, including patterns of marijuana and alcohol use, nicotine use, and nonmedical use of prescription drugs. It also covers newer trends, such as use of e-vaporizers and hookahs. In 2018, the survey identified statistics related to e-vaporizer use of nicotine and marijuana separately from other smoking forms. This section also has resources for students, parents, educators, dorm supervisors, counselors, clinicians, and researchers who work with this age group. Download the full Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2019. Volume II: College students and adults ages 19-50 (PDF, 17MB) [Monitoringthefuture.org] report.
News Releases
- Vaping, marijuana use in 2019 rose in college-age adults (
- Marijuana use at historic highs among college-age adults (
- Daily use of marijuana among non-college young adults at all time high (September 2018)
Thinking about a career in Addiction Science?
- College Addiction Studies Programs
- Summer Internship Program at the NIH
- About the Addiction Medicine Subspecialty
Interested in holding an event during National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week® that focuses on reaching college-age young adults?
- What is National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week®?
- Prevention Profiles: Take Five - Dr. Nora Volkow (NIDA) (Podcast, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Campus Drug Prevention)
Looking for Treatment?
Use the SAMHSA Treatment Locator or call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Multimedia
Related Information
Resources for College Students and Parents
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Campus Drug Prevention
- Drugs and Paraphernalia – A one-stop reference for everything related to drugs—their appearance, paraphernalia, effects on the body, and more. Please note: The content you are about to see contains pictures of drugs or drug use. Such pictures can cause problems for people who are addicted to drugs.
- Views from the Field – Articles offering federal, national, state, and local perspectives across the nation.
- Podcasts – Launched in January 2018, these podcasts are posted monthly and feature interviews with prevention professionals at the federal, national, state, and local levels, based around five questions related to drug use and college students.
- How to Help a Friend – Guidance on how to talk to a friend, roommate, or someone else you think may have a substance use problem.
- Publications – A list of DEA and non-DEA publications related to drug use and the college population.
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA): College Women’s Campaign – Provides information on health topics such as safe medication use, sleep problems, and birth control. Sample messages are also provided for student leaders and college health professionals to use in their outreach.
- American College Health Association: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs/Substance Use – Features an index of ACHA and other resources on this topic. Resources include association projects, programs, publications, guidelines, and more.
- Behavioral Health among College Students Information & Resource Kit (PDF, 7MB)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - The College Life Study at the Center on Young Adult Health and Development – Highlights an NIH-funded project at the University of Maryland that aims to understand the health-related behaviors of young adults during a critical life transition.
- College Parents Matter – Provides tools and scripts to improve communication with your college student.
- JED Foundation’s ULifeline – An anonymous, confidential, online resource center, where college students can be comfortable searching for the information regarding emotional health.
- Shatterproof – National nonprofit dedicated to reducing the devastation that addiction to prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and alcohol causes to families.
- Step-by-Step Guide: What to Do If You Have a Problem with Drugs
Other Resources
- MEDLINEplus Health Information on Drug Abuse (National Library of Medicine, NIH)
- Healthfinder.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies in human volunteers conducted to answer specific health questions. Learn about the NIH-sponsored clinical trials available to you.
- NIDA Clinical Trial Locator - answer a few simple questions and get contact information for Clinical Trials near you.