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The United States population is on drugs…and lots of them. All one has to do is look to his left or right to witness this statement in action. Or better yet, just look in the mirror. You, me, us, and them – we’re all under the influence of the trillion-dollar black market dope trade. It’s almost as though altered states of consciousness through plant and chemical consumption is now more representative of the American Way than any ethos our forefathers built this country on back when democracy was still a seemingly pure concept. But now that the nation has erupted into a state of chaotic decline, and we now live in a world where reality television stars attempt to hash out important policy issues rather than those qualified for the job, getting turned up on dope can provide the easiest access to the Technicolor trapdoor out of the madness.
But don’t take our word for it. We’re on drugs, too — remember? Everyone is. So, to shed some light on the subject on the subject, we looked to new study by Addictions.com. The rehab crew over there recently examined the novelty website called texts from last night to find out more about the kind of drugs people are using and abusing on a regular basis.
The concept behind this research is that people are more likely to send texts at night that are more raw and real on a variety of topics, including drugs. They may even be on one or more inebriating substances when sending those texts. And we all know that drunk and drugged texting is the most honest form of communication we have in the world today. It’s like that scene in the 1995 film ‘Four Rooms’ (The Man From Hollywood) where Norman says, “When you’re fucked up, you don’t lie. Man, you tell the fuckin’ truth!” No truer words have ever been spoken.
If there is a smidgen of truth to be found in the more than 70,000 texts analyzed from the texts from last night site, when America gets high it gets high on speed. The study found that more people mentioned methamphetamine (26 percent of the texts) than any other illicit substance.
Although meth hasn’t received as much media attention in recent years thanks to the popularity of opioids, make no mistake about it – this Nazi drug is still going strong in the Land of the Freaks. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that nearly 8,000 people still die each year from a meth overdose. It is a number that continues to increase. An article published earlier this year by High Times suggests that methamphetamine is on the verge of becoming the next American drug crisis.
The second most mentioned drug was heroin (20 percent), according to the study. Coming in third was cocaine (17 percent). Out of the three, researchers found that cocaine and heroin were mostly associated with “good experiences.” Meth was further down on the list. Some of texts sent on bad nights, however, showed heroin in there, as well, followed by synthetic drugs, like Spice.
Marijuana, which is now legal in parts of the country, is mostly associated good experiences. But there still seems to be some folks having “dreaded nights” with the herb.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the study is which U.S. jurisdictions love and hate drugs the most.
When it comes to pot, Oakland, Michigan leads the nation in its admiration for the leaf. Cocaine is Atlanta, Georgia’s favorite, while New Haven, Connecticut prefers heroin. Strangely, while marijuana is legal in Colorado, it is not always the substance of choice. The study finds that the folks in Denver really enjoy tripping out on LSD. On the flipside, the Mile High City absolutely despises cocaine and heroin. That’s better than Baltimore, Maryland. The study indicates that this jurisdiction hates marijuana the most.
Although the results of the study are hardly scientific, it does provide a glimpse into pulse of the American drug culture – for better or worse. And while marijuana may now be the most consumed substance in the world, the main takeaway here is that Americans still love hard drugs. No prohibition or legalization effort is ever going to change that.
Mike Adams is a freelance writer for High Times, Cannabis Now, and Forbes. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram