A bipartisan report entitled Reducing the U.S. Demand for Illegal Drugs (June 2012) outlines strategies for Congress and the Obama Administration to reduce the massive U.S. demand for illegal drugs.
Drug abuse in the United States poses a major public health challenge while also costing our country $193 billion a year in preventable health care, law enforcement and addiction expenses. In 2010, about 22.6 million Americans aged 12 and older were current illegal drug users. This is the largest proportion in the past decade of people aged 12 and older identified as current illegal drug users.