The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will hold a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to announce the results of its 2012 Monitoring the Future survey (MTF). The survey, funded by NIDA — part of the National Institutes of Health — tracks annual drug abuse trends of 8th, 10th, and 12th-grade students, including attitudes and perceived risk of specific drugs of abuse. The 2012 MTF survey will include use of bath salts among students for the first time.
MTF is one of three major survey instruments the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services uses to monitor the nation’s substance abuse patterns among teens. Information from these surveys helps identify potential drug problem areas, assess whether federal drug prevention efforts are effective, and ensure that resources are targeted to areas of greatest need. For more information on the MTF survey, visit: www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/MTF.html.