The latest findings on drug use in the United States from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that marijuana is the illicit drug most widely used by girls.
And research trends indicate that girls are catching up with boys with regard to illicit drug and alcohol use. In some cases, such as cigarette smoking, girls’ usage rates have surpassed those of boys.

More adolescent girls than boys started using marijuana in 2002, 2003 and 2004

1,600,000 girls reported having at least one major depressive episode in 2004. More than twice as many young females as males reported depression in 2004.

Teen girls outnumber boys in their misuse of prescription drugs.

One out of eight teenage girls reported smoking cigarettes in the past month (12.5% compared to 11.3% for boys).

18 percent of teenage girls reported drinking alcohol in the past month compared to 17.2 percent of teenage boys.