Illicit Drug Use in the United States, by Drug

Illicit Drug Use in the United States, by Drug

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The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) obtains information on 9 categories of illicit drugs: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, prescription pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives.

The image above shows “Past Month Illicit Drug Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older: 2012.”  where the numbers in millions of past month users are shown on the X axis and 7 drug categories (illicit drugs, marijuana, psychotherapeutics, cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin) are shown on the Y axis.

According to this study, in one month:

• • 23.9 million people used illicit drugs
  • 18.9 million people used marijuana
  • 6.8 million people used psychotherapeutics
  • 1.6 million people used cocaine
  • 1.1 million people used hallucinogens
  • Half a million people used inhalants
  • 0.3 million people used herion

An estimated 23.9 million Americans (ages 12 or older) were illicit drug users, meaning they’ve used an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey. This estimate represents 9.2% of the population aged 12 or older.

Additional Information About Drug Categories:

Illicit Drugs included in this study are marijuana/hashish, cocaine & crack, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, oprescription-type psychotherapeutics used non-medically. Hashish is included with marijuana, and crack is considered a form of cocaine. Several drugs are grouped under the hallucinogens category, including LSD, PCP, peyote, mescaline, psilocybin mushrooms, and Ecstasy/MDMA. Inhalants include a variety of substances, such as nitrous oxide, amyl nitrite, cleaning fluids, gasoline, spray paint, other aerosol sprays, and glue.

Prescription-type drugs (pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives) cover numerous medications that currently are or have been available by prescription. They also include drugs within these groupings that originally were prescription medications but currently may be manufactured and distributed illegally, such as methamphetamine, which is included under stimulants.

Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)

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