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Marijuana is the most popular drug in Australia tried by more than 7 million Australians in a lifetime, with ecstasy being the second most popular tried by 2 million people. By age 20, 37% of the population have tried those drugs, and by age 40, this is just shy of 60%.[citation needed] Ireland A 2008 study in the Republic of Ireland found that for teenagers aged 15–19: 86% drink alcohol (the legal alcohol purchase age and public drinking age is 18.) 51% binge drink (defined as five drinks or more at occasion) at least once a month. 19% binge drink once a week. On a typical drinking occasion, the average amount of alcoholic beverages consumed is 5.75 pints. The average age for taking a first alcoholic drink is 13½. 50% have used illegal drugs at least once. 41% have used cannabis at least once. The average age of first illegal drug use is 14½. Northern Ireland has the highest rate of recreational drug use among teenagers[citation needed] United States In the 1960s, the number of Americans who had tried cannabis at least once increased over twentyfold. In 1969, the FBI reported that between the years 1966 and 1968, the number of arrests for marijuana possession, which had been outlawed throughout the United States under Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, had increased by 98%.[20] Despite acknowledgement that drug use was greatly growing among America's youth during the late 1960s, surveys have suggested that only as much as 4% of the American population had ever smoked marijuana by 1969.[21] By 1972, however, that number would increase to 12%.[21] That number would then double by 1977.[21] The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having the relatively highest abuse potential and no accepted medical use.[22] Most marijuana at that time came from Mexico, but in 1975 the Mexican government agreed to eradicate the crop by spraying it with the herbicide paraquat, raising fears of toxic side effects.[22] Colombia then became the main supplier.[22] The "zero tolerance" climate of the Reagan and Bush administrations (1981–93) resulted in passage of strict laws and mandatory sentences for possession of marijuana and in heightened vigilance against smuggling at the southern borders. The "war on drugs" thus brought with it a shift from reliance on imported supplies to domestic cultivation (particularly in Hawaii and California).[22] Beginning in 1982 the Drug Enforcement Administration turned increased attention to marijuana farms in the United States,[22] and there was a shift to the indoor growing of plants specially developed for small size and high yield.[22] After over a decade of decreasing use, marijuana smoking began an upward trend once more in the early 1990s,[22] especially among teenagers,[22] but by the end of the decade this upswing had leveled off well below former peaks of use.[22] Movements There have been many movements calling for the legalization of recreational drugs (the most notable one being cannabis legalization). Examples of such movements are the Worldwide Marijuana March, Hemp Day, and 4/20. Several movements that call for the legalization of drugs, not from an argument of their safety but rather from an argument that this issue should be considered a medical one and not a criminal one, also exist, primarily in North America. One such organization is the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). The British drug reform group Transform believes that taxation and regulation of drugs by the government would significantly decrease crime while increasing the health of drug users and addicts.[23] Impact varies from country to country, depending on its legality. Also, there are many anti-drug movements, specifically Straight Edge and The Partnership For A Drug Free America, calling for the continuation of its current illegality. In a blog article titled "Drugs and the meaning of life", author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues "The fact that we pointlessly ruin the lives of nonviolent drug users by incarcerating them, at enormous expense, constitutes one of the great moral failures of our time." He says that he dreads the thought of his daughter's ever taking an interest in crack cocaine. On the other hand, he feels that she might be missing out if she never tried psychedelics like psilocybin. Harris also laments that a drug's legality, social status, and risks of harm rarely correlate reasonably.[24] Risks The amount and type of risks that come with recreational drug use vary widely with the drug. There are many factors in the environment and the user that interact with each drug differently. Overall, some studies suggest that alcohol is one of the most dangerous of all recreational drugs; only heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamines are judged to be more harmful. However, studies which focus on a moderate level of alcohol consumption have concluded that there can be substantial health benefits from its use, such as decreased risk of cardiac disease, stroke and cognitive decline.[25][26][27][28] Experts in the UK offer that some drugs that may be causing less harm, to fewer users (although they are also used less frequently in the first place) include Cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and ecstasy. These drugs are not without their own particular risks.[29] Gallery Martini, a popular cocktail, containing alcohol a common depressant Cappuccino, a coffee drink containing caffeine a popular stimulant Dried cannabis flowers, containing THC and other cannabinoids known as marijuana. A lit cigarette, containing tobacco and nicotine. A pile of cocaine hydrochloride Tablets containing MDMA, widely known as "ecstasy" "Pink elephant" blotters containing LSD Preparing heroin for injection also known as diacetylmorphine Homeless children from Keningau, in Borneo, sniffing glue from a plastic bag Crack cocaine in the form of "rocks" Poppers, a slang term for alkyl nitrites that are inhaled Amphetamine is typically prescribed as amphetamine mixed salts commonly known as Adderall Psilocybe semilanceata, a type of psilocybin mushrooms Opium poppy seed pods exuding latex Phenobarbital, a long-acting barbiturate Methamphetamine in crystal form Salvia divinorum extract, mainly containing salvinorin A Coca tea, consumed as a stimulant Man in Yemen selling khat, an amphetamine-like stimulant DXM, a cough medicine which acts as a dissociative hallucinogen in large doses. Peyote cactuses containing psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline Ayahuasca, a decoction prepared with Banisteriopsis caapi Ketamine hydrochloride crystals DMT in a zipper storage bag 25I-NBOMe is usually misrepresented as LSD and sold in blotters Bromazepam, a benzodiazepine drug Whippets containing nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas" |
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