"Although availability of alcohol among 12th grade students is near its lowest level recorded since first measured in 1999, at 84% it is still very high.
"More substantial changes in the availability of alcohol have taken place among 8th and 10th graders. For 8th graders availability declined from 76% in 1992 to 53% in 2019. For 10th graders availability is down from the peak level of 90% in 1996 to 69% in 2019. This may reflect some success in state and local efforts to reduce access by those who are under age, as well as a decline in number of friends who use alcohol. It is worth noting, however, that even after these declines, alcohol clearly remains available to the majority of teens.
"Alcohol has long been the substance with the highest level of availability. It has been at 84% or higher in all years since its addition to the 12th grade survey in 1999. Over the past decade it has declined somewhat from 92% in 2009 to 84% in 2019."
Miech, R. A., Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Schulenberg, J. E., & Patrick, M. E. (2020). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2019: Volume I, Secondary school students. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan.
