College-Age & Young Adults

• How does marijuana use affect your brain and body?
• Marijuana Research at NIDA
• NIDA's role in providing marijuana for research
• Health Effects

Changing Marijuana Laws and NIDA Research

Watch video (7:07)

Prescription Drug Abuse Research Report

• What is Prescription Drug Abuse
• DrugFacts: Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse
• Emerging Trends - "Sizzurp", "Purple Drank"
• Prescription Stimulants (Abuse) Health Effects
• Prescription Sedatives, sleeping pills*, or anxiolytics (Abuse) Health Effects
• Prescription Opioids (Abuse) Health Effects
• Over-the-counter Cough/Cold Medicines (Dextromethorphan or DMX) Health Effects

• Monitoring the Future (MTF)
  The MTF study measures drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related attitudes among college students nationwide. Survey participants report their drug use behaviors across three time periods: lifetime, past year, and past month. The annual survey is funded by NIDA and conducted by the University of Michigan.
  • Monitoring the Future national survey results on Drug Use, 1975-2013: Volume II, college students and adults ages 19-55 (PDF, 7MB)
  • College students' use of marijuana on the rise, some drugs declining (University of Michigan Web Site)
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
  SAMHSA’s NSDUH (formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse [NHSDA]) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population, age 12 and older.
• The Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS)
  The TEDS system includes records for approximately 1.5 million substance abuse treatment admissions annually. While TEDS does not represent all substance abuse treatment activities, it does comprise a significant proportion of all admissions to substance abuse treatment programs and includes those admissions that rely on public funds. Data are reported by sex, age, and race/ethnicity for each of 15 substance abuse categories. TEDS is maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA.
• Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
  New Survey: Misuse and Abuse of Prescription Stimulants Becoming Normalized Behavior Among College Students, Young Adults.

• What to do if you have a problem with drugs:
  • For Teens and Young Adults
• What to do if someone you know has a problem with drugs:
  • Your Teen or Young Adult

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIDA’s sister institute at the National institutes of Health, has many programs and initiatives related to alcohol use on college campuses and among other young adults. Since this population group often mixes alcohol and other drugs, the links below are invaluable to understanding substance use in this age group.
  • College Drinking Prevention Site
  • Alcohol and You: An Interactive Body
  • A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences
  • Facts About Alcohol Poisoning
  • A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences
  • College Fact Sheet for Parents
  • Additional College Materials

• JED foundation’s U Lifeline
  ULifeline is a project of The Jed Foundation, a leading organization working to protect the emotional health of America's college students, and was developed with input from leading experts in mental health and higher education. ULifeline is an anonymous, confidential, online resource center, where college students can be comfortable searching for the information they need and want regarding emotional health.
• American College Health Association: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs/Substance Use
  This page is an index of ACHA and other resources on this topic. Resources include association projects, programs, publications, guidelines, and more.
• Shatterproof
  Shatterproof is a bold, new national organization committed to protecting our children from addiction to alcohol or other drugs and ending the stigma and suffering of those affected by this disease.
• Foundation for a Drug-Free World
  The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free.
• CASAColumbia
  Informs Americans of the economic and social costs of addiction and risky substance use and its impact on their lives; assesses what works in prevention, treatment and disease management; and encourages every individual and institution to take responsibility to reduce these health problems.