The Surprisingly Low Addiction Rates of Crack, Heroin, and Meth

Posted: October 11th, 2011 | Filed under: addiction, crack, drugs, heroin, methamphetamine | 3 Comments »

Crack Heroin Meth For Life - Not
A tenet of the drug war is that “hard” drugs are so pleasurable that once tried, most people cannot resist them. This fiction is propagated by the media which showcases in the words of Dr. Stanton Peele, “extremely self-dramatizing addicts,” while ignoring the vast invisible majority of recreational drug users – the unaddicted. (2) The truth is that illegal drugs’ addiction rates are not nearly as high as they are popularly portrayed.

As can be seen below, of the millions of Americans who have experienced the highs of crack, heroin, and methamphetamine only a small percentage have used them in the past month. Even if the ludicrous position is taken that every person who has partaken in the past month is an addict, the addictive power of these substances is clearly overblown.

Hard Drug Usage in Population 2010(1)

Bonus Link

The 8 Most Terrifying Anti-Meth Ads

Sources

1. “National Survey on Drug Use and Health,” Fig. 1.1A, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2010. LINK
2. Stanton Peele, Diseasing of America (1995), p. 161.

3 Comments on “The Surprisingly Low Addiction Rates of Crack, Heroin, and Meth”

  1. 1 Behavioral Crossroads said at 4:50 pm on December 15th, 2011:

    This is good news. To know that less people are using these drugs. Whether it’s addictive on the first use or not, staying away from these things is everybody’s smart move.

  2. 2 The Surprisingly Low Addiction Rates of Crack, Heroin, and Meth « Black Poppy's Junk Mail said at 1:55 am on January 30th, 2012:

    […] Posted in drugs, entertainment, people, Psychology Tagged blogs, positive drug stories, recreational drug use, rob arthur, suburra.com […]

  3. 3 Fragem said at 11:51 pm on April 12th, 2014:

    I like treating addicts like shit, so of course I’ll just ignore this website.