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Illicit Drug Use among Older Adults

The NSDUH Report - Illicit Drug Use among Older Adults

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Highlights:

An estimated 4.3 million adults aged 50 or older, or 4.7 percent of adults in that age range, had used an illicit drug in the past year, based on data from the 2006 to 2008 NSDUH surveys. Marijuana use was more common than the nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs for adults aged 50 to 54 and those aged 55 to 59 (6.1 vs. 3.4 percent and 4.1 vs. 3.2 percent, respectively), but among those aged 65 or older, nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs was more common than marijuana use (0.8 vs. 0.4 percent). Marijuana use was more common than the nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs among males aged 50 or older (4.2 vs. 2.3 percent, respectively), but among females, the rates of marijuana use and nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs were similar (1.7 and 1.9 percent).

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This Short Report, The NSDUH Report - Illicit Drug Use among Older Adults, is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted by SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health also provides estimates for drug use by State.

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This page was last updated on December 29, 2009.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.

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