10 Ways Addiction In The US Is Different From Anywhere Else

When it comes to the politics and culture of drugs, the United States is dramatically different from the rest of the Western world. Too often, however, we are special for the wrong reasons.

1. We Try More Drugs Than Anyone Else

Americans are more likely to try illegal drugs than anyone else in the world, according to global survey data from the World Health Organization.

42% of American adults have tried marijuana, for example, while only 20% of the Dutch have done so—despite the Netherlands’ long-running policy of tolerating sales and possession without criminal penalties. We’re also number one in terms of the percentage of our population that has tried cocaine (16%), with most European countries (including Holland) having averages around 1% to 2%. In Colombia—a major source country for the drug—only 4% of the population has taken cocaine.

In terms of lifetime tobacco use—coming in at 74%—we’re also a serious outlier: In most of Europe, only around half the population tries smoking or other tobacco products.

Not surprisingly, we’re also number one in terms of annual prescription painkiller misuse—with 5.1% of the population reporting taking such drugs for nonmedical reasons, compared to 1% in Canada and 3% in Australia.

But we’re lagging behind on illegal opiate use, which includes drugs like heroin and opium. According to this year’s World Drug Reportfrom the UN, in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, 1.25% of the population has taken these drugs at least once in the past year. In the US and Canada, that number is less than 0.5%. Clearly, we have some work to do!

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