--- title: Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs description: The latest report compiles information on substance use, as well as treatment, reported in 2015 from two large national surveys. canonical: https://time.com/4811761/teens-depression-drug-abuse/ author: Lon Tweeten article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-12T15:03:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:20.508Z article:section: Health og:title: Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs og:description: A new report compiles information on mental health and substance use in the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/4811761/teens-depression-drug-abuse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97ffac1210498636/6988d13997cdff683f6b122d/cigarettes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5300 og:image:height: 2981 og:image:alt: cigarettes-teen-smoking og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs twitter:description: A new report compiles information on mental health and substance use in the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97ffac1210498636/6988d13997cdff683f6b122d/cigarettes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Lon Tweeten](https://time.com/author/lon-tweeten/) and [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/) Jun 12, 2017 3:03 PM UTC  \= \= Getty Images by [Lon Tweeten](https://time.com/author/lon-tweeten/) and [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/) Jun 12, 2017 3:03 PM UTC The latest snapshot of mental health and substance abuse among teens and adults tells a mixed story of optimism and opportunities for improvement. While teens are using fewer substances now than in the past, the overall opioid epidemic shows no signs of slowing. The data, compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), comes from two large national surveys reported in 2015\. Here are some of the key findings. ### Fewer teens are using illegal drugs While marijuana is the substance teens are most likely to abuse, rates of pot usage have also declined slightly since 2011\. Fewer teens started using alcohol, marijuana or cigarettes in 2015 than in 2011\. Cigarette use in particular has been steadily dropping, from nearly 8% in 2011 to 4.2% in 2015.  However, it’s not all good news. While rates of substance abuse are dropping among teens, those who do abuse illicit drugs are not receiving the treatment that could help them with their addiction.  ### **Depression affects more teens** Rates of depression have been steadily rising among young people—especially girls—since 2011\. An estimated 3 million teens reported having at least one major depressive episode in the past year in the 2015 survey. **MORE**: [Why The Kids Are Not Alright](http://time.com/4547322/american-teens-anxious-depressed-overwhelmed/?iid=sr-link2)  ### **Opioid abuse affects all ages** Abuse of prescription painkillers is a growing problem, and nearly 5% of the U.S. population over age 12 reports misusing a prescription pain medication in the past year. Some of the increasingly popular—and controversial—medications such as methadone and buprenorphine that are used to treat opiate addictions by mimicking the opioid drugs themselves are also among the drugs being misused. More worrisome are opiates like fentanyl, which when obtained illegally, aren’t always pure and are contributing to more overdose deaths.  ### **How people get prescription pain drugs** Overprescribing of opiate medications, for conditions from headaches to dental surgery and major surgery, has contributed to abuse. Because they are addictive, users often find other sources of drugs when their prescriptions run out.  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4811761/teens-depression-drug-abuse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4811761/teens-depression-drug-abuse/"},"headline":"Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs","datePublished":"2017-06-12T15:03:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:20.508Z","description":"The latest report compiles information on substance use, as well as treatment, reported in 2015 from two large national surveys.","url":"https://time.com/4811761/teens-depression-drug-abuse/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Depression","Mental Health","opioid epidemic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97ffac1210498636/6988d13997cdff683f6b122d/cigarettes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lon Tweeten","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lon-tweeten/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt97ffac1210498636/6988d13997cdff683f6b122d/cigarettes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"cigarettes-teen-smoking","caption":"cigarettes-teen-smoking","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-healthpsychology/","name":"Mental Health/Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4811761/teens-depression-drug-abuse/","name":"Teens Are Getting More Depressed But Using Fewer Drugs"}}]}] ```