200,000,000 Can't Be Wrong

First off, if 200 million people ADMITTED using drugs, the actual number must be MUCH higher. If this assumes two billion people on Earth today, I think the real number is closer to a billion people using drugs.

Second off, figure out how many people are full of shit. That doubles the number right there. Then there are those in denial. Add 200 million. Then add in just mistakes. People that are taking pills they think are aspirin and they are actually getting loaded. Add 100 million. Then the random factor. That makes up the rest. Remember, when somebody gets caught doing something wrong, it's not the FIRST time they've done something wrong, it's like the TENTH time they've done it, and it's JUST NOW they are getting caught. Plus the highlight below, if you include steroids and other good shit as drugs, the number expands.

Realistically I would say more than half the world is on drugs. If half the world is using drugs isn't it time the rest of the world got on the program, or just left the rest of us alone? At least admit that if it's a WAR on drugs, the people who are against drugs are the biggest losers of all time. Even bigger losers than Napoleon, who at least got to die in bed, albeit in exile.

Roughly 200 million people worldwide use illicit drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and opioids each year, according to a new study. The figure represents about one in 20 people between the ages of 15 and 64.

Using a review of published studies, Australian researchers estimated that as many as 203 million people use marijuana, 56 million people use amphetamines including meth, 21 million people use cocaine and 21 million people use opioids like heroin. The use of all four drug classes was highest in developed countries.

"Intelligent policy responses to drug problems need better data for the prevalence of different types of illicit drug use and the harms that their use causes globally," reads the report, published today in The Lancet. "This need is especially urgent in high-income countries with substantial rates of illicit drug use and in low-income and middle-income countries close to illicit drug production areas."

The 200 million number does not include people who use ecstasy, hallucinogenic drugs, inhalants, benzodiazepines or anabolic steroids - just one reason it's likely a vast underestimate of illicit drug use, according to lead author Louisa Degenhardt of the Sydney-based National Drug and Alcohol Research Center.

"Drug use is often hidden, particularly when people fear the consequences of being discovered for using drugs, such as being imprisoned," Degenhardt said in a press conference.

Up to 39 million people are considered "problematic" or dependent drug users and up to 21 million people inject drugs, according to the report.

"It's likely that injectable drug users have increased," said Degenhardt, adding that the practice "is a major direct cause of HIV, hepatitis C and to some extent hepatitis B transmission globally." Cocaine, amphetamine and heroin can be injected either alone or in combination.

Illicit drugs can have dangerous health effects, including overdosing, accidental injury caused by intoxication, dependence and long-term organ damage. While they may not cause immediate death, they're thought to shave 13 million years of the life spans of users worldwide, according to the report. A 2000 report by the World Health Organization attributed roughly 241,000 deaths to illicit drug use - double the number from 1990.

[abcnews.com]