U.S. Ranks Higher in Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Despite strict drug and alcohol laws, the United States leads the world in rates of experimenting with drugs, researchers at the World Health Organization have found. "The United States, which has been driving much of the world's drug research and drug policy agenda, stands out with higher levels of use of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis, despite punitive illegal drug policies, as well as (in many U.S. states), a higher minimum legal alcohol drinking age than many comparable developed countries," said