Illicit drug use is a significant social problem throughout the world, and Americans use more than any other nation on the planet. Here are some facts and statistics on illicit drug use in the United States:
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8.4% of Americans ‘have used an illicit drug in the past month, and nearly a quarter binge drink, according to a SAMHSA study. (Shorman, 2011)
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In 2011, 22.5 million Americans age 12 and older, or nearly 9% of the population, said they regularly used illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or had abused prescription drugs. (Leinwand-Leger, 9-25-2012)
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Americans consume at least $65 billion worth of illegal drugs annually, roughly what they spend on higher education. The illicit drug trade in the U.S. is a bigger business than professional sports and Hollywood combined. (Padgett-Durango, 2011) Yet many consider this number to be low, and estimate the illegal drug trade to be well in excess of $100 billion/year. (Hanson et al., 2004)
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Hair samples, which can detect drug use farther back in time (around 3 months) show much higher rates of drug use than urine samples do. Data from Quest Diagnostics on workplace drug sampling found that hair samples showed cocaine use by 32 of every 1,000 people, compared to 3 in 1,000 for urine tests. Methamphetamine use was 9 in 1,000 for hair samples and 1 in 1,000 for urine. At the time this represented around 10-times the rate of cocaine and meth use that was previously suspected. (Jones, 2009)
Statistics on the costs & consequences of drug use
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20% of all hospital costs in the U.S. are related to damage done by substance abuse. (Hanson et al., 2004, p. 132)
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65% of strokes involving young Americans are related to cigarette, cocaine, or amphetamine use. (ibid)