Health Care Authority presents 2025 Healthy Youth Survey to Liquor and Cannabis Board; 10th‑grade substance‑use rates remain low

The Liquor and Cannabis Board caucus heard preliminary results from the 2025 Healthy Youth Survey on June 2, when Sarah Mariani of the Health Care Authority said most 10th graders reported no lifetime use of studied substances and that 30‑day use rates cluster “from about 5 to 7 percent.” Mariani, a section manager overseeing substance‑use‑disorder prevention and related surveys, said cigarette use among 10th graders was under 2 percent and several categories of illegal or prescription‑drug use were under 1 percent.

Mariani cautioned that the survey changed methods during the pandemic and that the office is reluctant to confirm long‑term trends until more post‑2021 data points exist. “There was a break in trend in 2020 due to the pandemic,” she said, and the agency is marking dashed trend lines from 2021 to 2025 while it gathers additional cycles to verify patterns.

Kristin Haley, LCB’s public‑health education liaison, who led the caucus briefing and introduced the HCA team, said the roundtable discussion that preceded the presentation drew about 66 participants and that the HYS team is focusing the caucus discussion on 10th‑grade statewide results for higher response reliability. Haley noted the survey is co‑managed by four state agencies and contractor Looking Glass Analytics and that it is useful to pair HYS findings with LCB compliance checks and local reporting to form a clearer picture of youth access.

Haley highlighted access patterns among youth who reported recent use: “The primary forms of out‑of‑access continue to be social, not retail, for both alcohol and cannabis,” she said, and added that self‑reported retail purchases among 10th graders were low (about 3 percent for alcohol in that subgroup), while 12th graders reported higher retail purchase rates. Haley also noted first‑time questions this cycle about access via social media or the internet, which returned under 2 percent for alcohol and 3 percent for cannabis among users.

The HCA team also reviewed mental‑health indicators. Mariani said anxiety and depression among 10th graders have decreased since 2021, while suicide indicators have remained steady; she emphasized the protective role of having at least one adult to turn to and reported increases in students indicating such supports. “The programs, policies, and strategies in place to provide these supports appear to be paying off in our data,” Mariani said, while adding caution about declaring definitive trends.

Board members thanked the presenters for the briefing and asked about deeper, region‑specific engagement. Haley described three follow‑up modes — tailored slide decks for community presentations, one‑off regional data calls, and internal policy unit deep dives — and said an internal deep dive for agency staff is scheduled the following week. Haley reported the next public roundtable dates as Sept. 17 and Dec. 9.

The caucus discussion emphasized that while many indicators are trending positively, disparities persist for some populations — including youth with disabilities, LGBTQ youth, and some racial and ethnic groups — and that continued cross‑agency prevention work is warranted. The presentation closed with board appreciation and no formal action taken at the caucus.