Americans are world's top drug users: study

reply to post by burdman30ott6


Burdman...,

That had to be one of the best structured, well documented surveys that anyone has ever linked in this website (in my experience of course)!

I wish more studies were so complete and well-documented. I did notice they admit that there is a particular weakness in the 'self-disclosure' aspect in some cultures, which I thought might have some bearing on the result (though not extremely so). Many cultures are very tight-lipped about their 'illicit' recreational activities and thus they skew the comparisons a bit. But no matter, the results took many relevant factors into account and I feel is quite valid in its summary.

EXCEPT - I missed the part where all the surveyed individuals were under 30 years old. That seems to be something that yahoo shouldn't have left out of the report, but c'est la vie!

Thanks for the link.

Originally posted by burdman30ott6


16.2% have used coc aine? Does this number seem just a tad inflated to anyone else? In 32 years of life I've never even seen coc aine, let alone tried it. I can believe the pot issue, although I'd think Canada would be just as high (pun intended) as we are here, but I could be wrong.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

You forget how pervasive coc aine was during the 70's and 80's. Lots of those poeple are still around, hence the 16%

[edit on 1-7-2008 by Quazga]

reply to post by Harman


Yes. It is amazing what people don't understand about addiction. It strikes very good people. It can take anybody.
How it can take a very good being and turn them. It is awful thing for a person and their families to deal with. And people can be pretty insensitive about it.

What the article is saying is that people have at least tried it. It doesn't mean that 16% of the population is addicted.

I know many people who have tried something once and have never tried it again.

As for the person who says they have never seen anyone do coc aine, most people don't advertise it. Not like they are gonna whip it out in front of you and do it.

I know of plenty of people who do it, yet have never done it in front of me.

[edit on 1-7-2008 by nixie_nox]

I'll be honest here and counter those who've said they've never seen drugs before. I've seen far far too many, I've known far too many people who've become junkies and still are to this day. All, every one, of my brother's friends is a junkie. I've seen people use almost every drug but meth, I've seen them leave the bag and needles laying around and I see them nodding off, drooling on themselves all the time. I've had people very very close to me die because of their addictions. People who're close to me and are too messed up to realize they have a syringe in their front pocket while they're telling me they're not messed up.

I think there's a serious sickness in American life these days, there is something missing that our grandparents had. There's nothing left to life these days, wake up, go to work, come home and repeat till the weekend when you can go shopping or find some other way to spend your hard earned money. I think people are looking for some meaning, some point to life, they want to feel alive and not feel like another corporate worker drone. There's no more mystery in life, everything is old hat and played out.

People are simply self medicating because they can't deal with the soul crushing dullness of everyday American life.

Originally posted by runetang
This means little and I'll explain why, something the writer of that article could've and should've done, but was too busy trying to make Americans look like the world's biggest druggies.

The USA shares a land route, and MANY near coastal sea routes from the primary source of the world's coc aine; Colombia, and the surrounding states, smuggled via Mexican cartels. Right now the Mexican cartels are kicking the Mexican police arse .. pretty badly .. if you've been following the news, its kinda sad. These cartels are better equipped and trained with guns than the police.

Now, if the study included a third drug, heroin, it would've completely reshaped the structure of the study. I'm willing to be that per-capita, or per population density, on a percentage level, there must be European, and former Soviet Republics that have more users of that, and more people who've tried it. I'm sure they also have more trafficking of it. And why is this? Because they share multiple land routes with Afghanistan and the surrounding region, the primary heroin producer in the world right now.

So really, Americans are just fortunate or unfortunate enough to live close to Colombia. And the Eastern Europeans and Russians have the displeasure of heroin epidemics from all that Afghani dope ..

[edit on 7/1/2008 by runetang]

We also toally like to get blazed over here! No 1 Wooo Hooo Top that Iran

reply to post by nixie_nox


I wasn't just saying I'd never seen anyone use it, I was saying I've never seen it, period. I've been to plenty of parties where the hookah was passed around, many times with people present who weren't users. I've seen shrooms, acid, and meth (never used any of them, but I have seen them) but I have never seen heroin or coc aine/crack before. I guess after reading how unsurprising the number is to everyone I've been sheltered and it's alot more prevalent than I would have imagined. Thanks for the enlightnement.

Originally posted by Shadowflux
I'll be honest here and counter those who've said they've never seen drugs before. I've seen far far too many, I've known far too many people who've become junkies and still are to this day. All, every one, of my brother's friends is a junkie. I've seen people use almost every drug but meth, I've seen them leave the bag and needles laying around and I see them nodding off, drooling on themselves all the time. I've had people very very close to me die because of their addictions. People who're close to me and are too messed up to realize they have a syringe in their front pocket while they're telling me they're not messed up.

I think there's a serious sickness in American life these days, there is something missing that our grandparents had. There's nothing left to life these days, wake up, go to work, come home and repeat till the weekend when you can go shopping or find some other way to spend your hard earned money. I think people are looking for some meaning, some point to life, they want to feel alive and not feel like another corporate worker drone. There's no more mystery in life, everything is old hat and played out.

People are simply self medicating because they can't deal with the soul crushing dullness of everyday American life.

Okay, i'll be serious, but just for a moment

The problem is the war on Drugs, the intolerance breeds a climate of ignorance on drugs and drug use... Americans use more dope because the culture of it despite being wide spread is "in the closet"

Even when it comes to booze many Americans simply don't know how to drink like Europeans do, they over indulge, get sick etc...

Americans are also due to illegality being so extreme doing cheep manufactured drugs, like meth amphetamine which is a major killer and mind wrecker, what you see in Canada or Amsterdam is use of Psychadelics or mind enhancing sunstances for the most part..

Cocaine use in Europe or Canada is limited to what's appropriate, a person might do a little bit out at a club or on new years eve, the people understand the drug better, they are aware they can burn out their dopamine receptors they talk easier and with less Fear about dope, so they know how to use the dope right

In the states people will try blow and then do it at home like they would weed, daily lol...until they are peeking out the window and confusing fantasy and reality

The war on drugs is probably the no 1 cuse of all American Internal problems from domestic violence (staying home to get high for fear of arres or dui) to schizophrenic violent episodes, depression and permanent mental illness and loss of IQ

Even in drinking, 2 glasses of wine at night with dinner is good for you, 8 is bad for you, Americans, a large swath of them just don't learn that.

I think it comes from being somewhere to the right in terms of religion, a society that is religous and preaches against substance... but unlike Islam it's still widely available because of freedom of choice...

what I see is that all or nothing works in regards to dope, and it's never going to be nothing in the states given locale and freedoms so it should be all...like most of Europe...

But we are still no 1 so up yours America Rules No 1 Yee ha, Sanction Boliva for lowering output, no number 2 at anything over here baby!

Rofl

reply to post by mopusvindictus


I'm not going to say you're wrong, and I do agree with you on the proper education and responsible consumption of the substances in question. However I personally feel that the real reason for the drug abuse goes much deeper than ignorance.

From what I've personally seen and been told most drug addicts are looking for something in their life, whether it be meaning, wholeness or acceptance. The problem arises when they find, or think they find, what they are looking for in the form of the drug. For many it's that one, inexplicable feeling that they've been searching that makes them come back to the drug.

Obviously the substance itself helps greatly in developing a habit and addiction. I think people's lives can be pretty empty and lonely at times and for some people they've felt empty and lonely their entire lives until that one time they try heroin.

Sort of helps prove that the criminalisation of drug use is a completly pointless exercise in attempting to limit use.

reply to post by Peruvianmonk


All it does is stock the prisons and line the pockets of the rich. The War on Drugs was never meant to eradicate drug usage. While I don't condone any use of hard substances like heroin and meth I also don't condone the seemingly unbalanced sentences many people get. I think that the majority of prisoners in most prisons are due to drugs.

reply to post by Shadowflux


First off let me say I feel your pain mate. I too know too many who have fallen to "the needle and the damage done", my best friend, who I grew up with and loved like a brother died using drugs, it broke my heart.

Also while I do not claim to have ALL the answers, I do see what you are talking about as the elusive cause of drug use in the USA.

It is my belief that one of the major contributors to todays drug / alcohol (lest just lump them together from now on) is the disintegration of "community". The ties that bind a people together are withering in the USA and have been for a long time. We now mostly live in Suburban Wastelands. We walk out our door, not to our front yard but into our enclosed garage. We drive MILES to shop at an anonymous store with an anonymous clerk. Our connection to the world is predominantly through the Windshield of our car. We drive home, pull into the garage, close the garage door and enter our homes and hibernate in front of the TV. We do not sit on or front porch and wave to neighbors we hide in our walled / fenced backyards alone with our grills.

Sure there still are some connections with others, but not nearly to the same scale as with our grandparents. This dwindling sense of community and civic pride I believe to be one of the greatest 'fertilizers' to drug use.

[edit on 1-7-2008 by Animal]

Originally posted by burdman30ott6
Those who think the number is deflated, are you serious? Where in the world have I been? I've lived in New Mexico, Arizona, and Western Washington and I was being honest when I said I've never even seen coke before.

You seem to be living in very "clean" environments then.
IN my little town in the UK, it is everywhere. People smoke weed openly on the streets, they skin up in the pubs, talk openly about it wherever they are, it is in no way a taboo.
Cocaine is all over the pubs and clubs. The toilet cubicles are always in use, again it isn't a taboo. A recent study found that 97% of 10 and 20 pound notes collected in the Soho area of London tested positive for coc aine.
Heroin is huge in my town. If you use a phone box, it won't be long till the door swings open and some scrote asks you "who you scoring off?", or "you getting?". Many many of my old frlends, past and present have heroin addictions, few have come through it on the good side.
Ecstacy, while not as popular as it was 10 or 20 years ago is just seen as what people do when they go out to certain clubs. It isn't thought of any differently to having a beer.
'___' just isn't popular anymore (unfortunately), partly because the kids nowadays (I sound old, don't I?) aren't interesting in expanding their experiences of the World, or opening their mind. They just want to get wasted.

I am actually surprised at this study, as everything I have read and stuff that I have had to study myself for my criminology course has always shown the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) has the highest number of drug users per capita in the developed World. I will have to look into this latest survey better but I would imagine it wasn't done objectively or possibly with an agenda. I would have to see what exactly is the criteria and how it was undertaken.

That said, I would definitely think the numbers have been deflated. I would be very, VERY surprised if the numbers are so low.
Someone said earlier in this post that it cannot be trusted as people will lie that they haven't taken drugs when they have, this is true but it also swings the other way, there will also be people who will lie that they have taken more than they actually have.

Just thinking about all the times Americans have gone at me about how shocked they are by the consumption of drugs and drink in the UK. Bother when over there and when they are over here. You always hear Americans say they can't believe how much we drink and how much drugs we do, although, people on continental Europe always say this about us too but they say it in a more derogatory way, they say it with a sneer. Continental Europeans actually call people from Britain "Island Monkeys", which I actually think is a great term for us, it's unfortunate but perfect.
Regarding Americans saying this, I have noticed that people from LA will ALWAYS say this! People from NYW or Boston or Seattle or whatever, while still commenting on it won't say it quite so often. People from Los Angeles always seem to be most shocked. I presume LA most be a very "clean" place. I don't suppose we get many people from South Central LA coming visiting us, though:-)

Also, to whoever said that drugs are legal in Canada and Amsterdam, well, I would look into that if I were you. Drugs are illegal in both places. Yep, even Marijuana.
If you want to look into countries with interesting drug laws, I would recommend Portugal and Switzerland.


[edit on 1-7-2008 by triplesod]

Originally posted by Animal
reply to post by Shadowflux

 

Excellent point! I would also be interested to see comparisons done with MethAmphetamines. A rather disgusting drug that does horrible damage to humans and is one I think of as All American.

MethAmphetamines is very rare in the UK for some reason. It just hasn't come over here yet.

I believe it is the same across the continent too.

reply to post by runetang


Excellent. That was going to be one of my first points.



Additionally, just a day or two ago on another thread I cited the US appetite for narcotics as a factor in our culture/economy. We are by nature, risk-takers and have high stress levels as a society. We need dope to keep going.
The US is also one of the biggest drug researcher nations on the planet. We play with chemicals. It's one of our "things."

The contrasts and diversity of this country is one of our strengths. We have the most depraved, deviant, and useless wastes of meat alongside the most brilliant motivated souls on the planet.
These folks also share the lands here with some of the most conservative, uptight, judegemental, dogmatic people on the planet. These conradictions keep us moving. It's great. And an appetite for good drugs goes with the territory. Literally and figuratively.

Finally, while I believe we are probably the biggest "user" nation in the world, I DON'T believe this study. It's biased and confounded.
I don't know that this issue can be accurately addressed and quantified conclusively with polls.

And we should just buy all the Afghan dope ourselves. We could find a good use for it and it would make alot of Afghans alot happier with US presence!!!

reply to post by mopusvindictus


With all due respect...
You are talking with a hell of a lot of authority on the character of Europeans and Americans there.

May I ask what makes you think you have such an insight into the European psyche and what makes you think you understand their personality so well?

Not only is everything you have said debatable, it is actually easily proven wrong.

First of all who can trust stats.

The kids are telling me that coke is huge. I think its something alot of people would try once, so i can see 16%.

But theres no way the weed thing is correct. Theres way more people whove tried marijuana once in their life. At least 60%

The hippies are in their 60's now, so we are almost to the point of having cool elders. How many old people died today? Just that much closer to a world of more open minded people. Man, and old people are supposed to be all wise and most experienced.

Not in this culture. Old people are the most brainwashed, misinformed, stuck in their old ways rut, babbling fools i know. I think thats one reason we stick em in nursing homes. Cuz we dont even associate with their line of thinking at all. Of course theres like 10% cool old folks or whatever.

I'd be more worried about alcohol consumption than coc aine and cannabis. Alcohol kills more people in America than all illegal drugs combined.

Also, the CIA smuggles coke over the border anyway, so that's got to count for something.

Originally posted by burdman30ott6
I wasn't just saying I'd never seen anyone use it, I was saying I've never seen it, period. I've been to plenty of parties where the hookah was passed around, many times with people present who weren't users. I've seen shrooms, acid, and meth (never used any of them, but I have seen them) but I have never seen heroin or coc aine/crack before. I guess after reading how unsurprising the number is to everyone I've been sheltered and it's alot more prevalent than I would have imagined. Thanks for the enlightnement.

I dunno, burd, I don't think this sounds "sheltered" to me. It makes me look like I was raised in a convent!

Animal, Shadowflux

I could believe the statistics. The only thing I can add is this. I came to the realization recently, that kids today below 18 yrs old were born to a generation of parents who were big time into a lot of recreational use of a lot of different drugs/alcohol and combinations thereof, at a younger age than previous generations.

I witness some children of families I know, whose parents did this (some when the child was a fetus!). Coke, meth, acid, alcohol, after work, weekends. One child has a retardation doctors can't put a label on, other children seem to have memory problems (i.e. brain damage). It's sad, really sad, when the kids tell me their brain doesn't work right and maybe its due to mom/dad being a druggie when they were born. Mind you, these kids come from families whose parents work and have a house.

So, yeah, I can believe the statistics with coc aine.

reply to post by Animal


You're exactly right. Life today is so isolated and lonely it's a wonder everyone doesn't do drugs. I really feel it myself, I feel very isolated and cut off from other people despite the fact that I live in one of the most populated areas in the world. Drug abuse only further isolates the user even from those they were previously connected with which makes the situation almost hopeless.