E-cigarette use high among teens.

• Position: Your Life

Use of cigarettes, alcohol, and abuse of prescription pain relievers among teens has declined since 2013, while marijuana use rates are stable, according to the 2014 Monitoring the Future survey, released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Bethesda, Md. However, use of e-cigarettes, measured in the report for the first time, is high.

These results are part of an overall two-decade trend among the nation's youth. The MTF survey measures drug use and attitudes among eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-graders, and is conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

"With the rates of many drugs decreasing, and the rates of marijuana use appearing to level off, it is possible that prevention efforts are having an effect," notes Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA. "It is now more important than ever for the public health community to continue to educate teens, parents, teachers, community leaders, the media, and health care providers about the specific harms of drug use among teens, whose brains are still developing."

The survey shows that past-month use of smoked marijuana remained steady among eighth-graders at 6.5%, 10th-graders at 16.6%, and 12th-graders at 21.2%. Close to six percent of 12th-graders report daily use of marijuana.

This survey also reveals that, in 2014, in states with medical marijuana laws...