Drugs in the United States


The United States consumes more illegal street drugs than any other country on earth. In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defined the word "drug" as an "article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" and those " intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals." Consistent with that definition, the U.S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco, caffeine and alcoholic beverages.

Federal drug policy

  • History of United States drug prohibition
  • Office of National Drug Control Policy
  • Drug Enforcement Administration

    War on drugs

The war on drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, and the stated aim to define and reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of drug policies of the United States that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs. The term "War on Drugs" was first used by President Richard Nixon in 1971.

Drug courts

The first Drug court in the United States took shape in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1989 as a response to the growing crack-cocaine usage in the city. Chief Judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, then State Attorney Janet Reno and Public Defender Bennett Brummer designed the court for nonviolent offenders to receive treatment. This model of court system quickly became a popular method for dealing with an ever-increasing number of drug offenders. Between 1984 and 1999, the number of defendants charged with a drug offense in the Federal courts increased 3% annually, from 11,854 to 29,306. By 1999 there were 472 Drug Courts in the nation and by 2005 that number had increased to 1262 with another 575 Drug Courts in the planning stages; currently, all 50 states have working Drug Courts. There are currently about 120,000 people treated annually in Drug Courts, though an estimated 1.5 million eligible people are currently before the courts. There are currently more than 2,400 Drug Courts operating throughout the United States.

Smuggling

across US borders may be done by several means. may be carried by people, or by, and, hidden in. and penetrate sea borders. pass above and pass below the usual routes of smuggling.

Pharmacological drugs

Doping is the taking of performance-enhancing drugs, generally for sporting activities. Doping has been detected in many sporting codes, especially baseball and football.

Major League Baseball

The Mitchell Report

In December 2007 US Senator George Mitchell released Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball asked Mitchell to conduct an independent investigation to see how bad steroid use was in baseball. In the report, Mitchell covers many topics and he interviewed over 700 witnesses. He covers the effects of steroids on the human body. He also touches on human growth hormone effects. He reports on baseball's drug testing policies before 2002 and the newer policies after 2002. Mitchell also named 86 players in the report that had some kind of connection to steroids. Among those named were: Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Eric Gagne. To finish his report, Mitchell made suggestions to the Commissioner of Baseball about drug testing and violations of the drug testing policies. Mitchell also reported that he would provide evidence to support the allegations made against such players and would give them the opportunity to meet with him and give them a fair chance to defend themselves against the allegations. The report also includes a paper trail of evidence that states, "Former Mets club house attendant, Kirk Randomski sent performing enhancement drugs to the players mentioned in the report." Quinn, T.J. and Thompson, Teri Daily News Sports Writers CT. :66

Recreational drugs by type

Alcohol

Alcohol access

A survey of over 6000 teenagers revealed:
  • Teenagers and young adults typically get their alcohol from persons 21 or older. The second most common source for high school students is someone else under age 21, and the third most common source for 18- to 20-year-old adults is buying it from a store, bar or restaurant.
  • In the 12th grade, boys were more likely than girls to buy alcohol from a store, bar or restaurant.
  • Teenagers with higher weekly incomes are more likely to buy alcohol from a store, bar or restaurant.
  • It is easy to get alcohol at a party and from siblings or others 21 or older.
How easy is it for youth to buy alcohol?
  • When young females attempted to buy beer without an ID at liquor, grocery or convenience stores, 47–52% of the attempts, beer was sold and nearly 80% of all the stores sold beer to the buyers at least once in three attempts; nearly 25% sold beer all three times.
  • When young females attempted to buy beer without an ID at bars or restaurants, 50% of the attempts resulted in a sale to the buyer.
  • When young males and females attempted to buy beer without an ID at community festivals, 50% of the attempts resulted in a sale to the buyer.
Of note:
  • Prohibition in the United States
  • Alcohol consumption by youth in the United States
  • Alcohol-related traffic crashes in the United States

    Cannabis

The use, sale, and possession of cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight in the United States, despite laws in many states permitting it under various circumstances, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence.
is the second most popular illegal recreational drug in the United States behind cannabis, and the U.S. is the world's largest consumer of cocaine.
In 2020, the state of Oregon became the first U.S. state to decriminalize cocaine. This new law prevents people with small amounts of cocaine from facing jail time. In 2020, the U.S. state of Oregon would also become the first state to decriminalize the use of heroin. This measure will allow people with small amounts to avoid arrest.
File:Psilocybe semilanceata 6514.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Psilocybe semilanceata,a psilocybin mushroom species sold in the U.S.

Methamphetamine

Opioids

Psilocybin

In January 2019, the Oregon Psilocybin Society and research firm DHM Research found that 47 percent of Oregon voters supported the legalization of medical psilocybin, while 46 percent opposed it. The percentage of voters in favor increased to 64 percent after key elements of the ballot were clarified to the poll's participants.
An October 2019 online poll conducted by research firm Green Horizons found that 38 percent of U.S. adults supported legalizing psilocybin "under at least some circumstances."
In November 2020, a ballot measure to legalize medical psilocybin passed with 55.8% of voters in favor.

Tobacco

  • History of commercial tobacco in the United States
  • Cigarette taxes in the United States
Statistics in 2018 estimated that about 14.9% of adults had ever used e-cigarettes, and around 3.2% of all adults in the United States were current e-cigarette users. These same stats also noted that 34 million U.S. adults were current smokers, with E-cigarette usage being highest among current smokers and former smokers who are attempting or have recently quit cigarettes.
Overall, it is estimated that 5.66 million adults in the US population reported current vaping 2.3%. From those users in the population, more than 2.21 million were current cigarette smokers, more than 2.14 million were former smokers, and more than 1.30 million were never smokers.
A significant concern for public health safety in the United States arises also from Mexico, where illicit opium poppy cultivation is on the rise. The Mexican government reported eradicating 21,425 hectares of opium poppy fields in 2014, up from 14,419 hectares in 2013. From 2010 to 2015, the number of heroin seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border more than doubled. According to the DEA, Mexican drug trafficking organizations are not only major suppliers of heroin but also the largest international sources of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine that enter the United States.

Costs

443,000 Americans die of smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke each year. For every smoking-related death, another 20 people suffer with a smoking-related disease.
California's adult smoking rate has dropped nearly 50% since the state began the nation's longest-running tobacco control program in 1988. California saved $86 billion in health care costs by spending $1.8 billion on tobacco control, a 50:1 return on investment over its first 15 years of funding its tobacco control program.
According to data from October 2023 to September 2024, approximately 87,000 deaths due to drug overdoses were reported in the United States.

Drug use and deaths per state