II. America's Drug Use Profile
Other Substances
Overall usage. The 1997 NHSDA reported no significant change in the prevalence of inhalants, hallucinogens (like LSD and phencyclidine [PCP]), or psychotherapeutics (tranquilizers, sedatives, analgesics, or stimulants) used for nonmedical purposes between 1995 and 1997.87 There was no statistically significant change between 1996 and 1997. The number of first-time hallucinogen users dropped from 1.2 million in 1995 to 1.1 million in 1996. Unfortunately the mean age of initiation also dropped from the previous all-time low of 17.3 years to 17.2 years.88 Current-use rates for psychotherapeutics dropped from 1.4 percent of the U.S. population aged twelve and older in 1996 to 1.2 percent in 1997.89 In absolute numbers, 2.6 million Americans used psychotherapeutics in 1997, less than one-half the number in 1985.90 The total percentage of lifetime inhalant abuse rose slightly from 5.6 to 5.7 percent of the U.S. population aged twelve and older.91 Inhalants can be deadly, even with first-time use, and often represent the initial experience with illegal substances.
Use among youth. The 1998 MTF survey reported that among 8th graders, use of inhalants declined among 8th graders from 5.6 percent in 1997 to 4.8 percent in 1998, and current use of LSD declined from 1.5 percent to 1.1 percent over the same period. Ethnographers continue to report "cafeteria use"** of hallucinogenic or sedative drugs like ketamine, LSD, methylene dioxy methamphetamine (MDMA), and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) throughout the country, often times tied into "rave culture."
**
"Cafeteria use" denotes the proclivity to consume any readily available drug. Young people often take mood-altering pills or consume drugged drinks in night clubs without knowing either what the drug is or the dangers posed by its use alone or in combination with alcohol or other drugs.
