22% Of Americans Age 12 & Older Used Illicit Drugs In 2021

In 2021, 21.9% of Americans aged 12 and older used illicit drugs. This translates to approximately 61.2 million people. The most used illicit drug was marijuana, which 52.5 million people used. About 9.2 million people aged 12 and older misused opioids in the past year. By age group, illicit drug use was most common among young adults aged 18 to 25, at 40%. About one-third of people in this age group used marijuana during 2021.

During 2021, 46.3 million people aged 12 or older (or 16.5% of the U.S. population) met the . . .