Drugs in the United States

In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defined the word "drug" as an "article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" and those "(other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals.

"[2] Consistent with that definition, the U.S. separately defines narcotic drugs and controlled substances, which may include non-drugs, and explicitly excludes tobacco, caffeine and alcoholic beverages.

[3] The War on drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, and the stated aim to define and reduce the illegal drug trade.

The first Drug court in the United States took shape in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1989 as a response to the growing crack-cocaine usage in the city.

This model of court system quickly became a popular method for dealing with an ever-increasing number of drug offenders.

[15] As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight (legal term marijuana) is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence.

The percentage of voters in favor increased to 64 percent after key elements of the ballot were clarified to the poll's participants.

[24] An October 2019 online poll conducted by research firm Green Horizons found that 38 percent of U.S. adults supported legalizing psilocybin "under at least some circumstances.

[28] A significant concern for public health safety in the United States arises also from Mexico, where illicit opium poppy cultivation is on the rise.

According to the DEA, Mexican drug trafficking organizations are not only major suppliers of heroin but also the largest international sources of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine that enter the United States.

(2011)[30] California's adult smoking rate has dropped nearly 50% since the state began the nation's longest-running tobacco control program in 1988.

Michigan and Detroit police inspecting equipment found in a clandestine brewery during the Prohibition era
US yearly overdose deaths, and the drugs involved. Among the more than 70,200 deaths estimated in 2017, the sharpest increase occurred among deaths related to fentanyl and synthetic opioids (28,466 deaths). [ 1 ]
As part of the "War on drugs", the U.S. gives hundreds of millions of dollars per year of military aid to Colombia, used to combat guerrilla groups such as FARC , involved in narcotics trafficking. Colin Powell is seen here visiting Colombia in 2006 in support of Plan Colombia .
Cigarette smokers as a percentage of the population for the United States as compared with the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, and Finland
US female arrests for drugs by age
US male arrests for drugs by age
U.S. cannabis arrests by year [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ]
A piece of compressed cocaine powder
Psilocybe semilanceata ,a psilocybin mushroom species sold in the U.S. [ 23 ]
Tobacco plants growing; in the United States
Drug overdose death rates per 100,000 by state. US map