Survey Finds Illegal Drug Use on the Rise

A new U.S. government survey has found that the abuse of illegal and prescription drugs is currently on the rise.  About 22.6 million people over the age of 12 used illegal drugs in 2010, representing a staggering 9% of the nation’s population.  This is up from 8% in 2008.
The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health included 67,500 American aged 12 and above and covered the use of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens and some types of commonly abused prescription drugs.

These findings were released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):
•    Marijuana tops the list of frequently used illicit drugs with a reported 17 million users.  This is an increase of 3 million users since 2007.
•    The nonmedical use of prescription drugs (including painkillers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives) was reported by 7 million …

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