ROCKVILLE, Md. ? Close to one in 10 Americans say they regularly use illegal drugs, including cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants and prescription drugs used recreationally, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, USA Today reports.
The most common drug is marijuana, which has around 17.4 million regular users, or 6.9 percent of the U.S. population. That?s up from the 5.8 percent in 2007. The increase corresponds with the number of states ? now at 16 ? approving medical marijuana.
The good news is that use of methamphetamine use, which exploded around the country for the past 10 years, has plummeted. The number of past-month users dropped from 731,000 in 2006 to reach 353,000 last year.
Since 2001, when methamphetamine began to race around the country, states have restricted or banned ingredients used to make meth, such as the pseudoephedrine often used in over-the-counter cold medications, said Peter Delany, director of the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
?We've seen better attention for law enforcement and policy changes. You can't get all the Sudafed you want anymore,? said Delany.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is cracking down on the so-called ?bath salts? synthetic drug. The agency now temporarily controls the sale of Mephedrone, MDPV and Methylone, which are used to make the salts, often sold at convenience stores under ?Ivory Wave? and ?Cloud Nine.? This means possessing or selling the chemical is illegal in the United States for at least a year while agencies study the drugs.
Currently, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota and Pennsylvania already ban sales of ?bath salts.?
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