According to the report released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), prescription-drug misuse among ages 18 to 25 increased by 15 percent. The study also found that more people used prescription pain relievers for non-medical reasons.

The report did find, however, that fewer adolescents are using marijuana, LSD and ecstasy. But alcohol misuse remained steady.

According to the report, the number of 12- to 17-year-olds who said they tried marijuana dropped 5 percent. In addition, the number of current marijuana smokers among 12- and 13-year-olds declined 30 percent.

LSD use among 12- to 17-year-olds dropped by 54 percent, while ecstasy use declined 41 percent.

In terms of alcohol misuse, binge and heavy drinking remained unchanged from 2002 to 2003. The report showed that about 54 million children ages 12 and older reported binge drinking at least once in the 30 days before being surveyed.

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