According to the Oxford dictionary, a recreational drug "a drug taken for enjoyment, typically illegally, rather than for strictly medicinal purposes." This means that while a recreational drug may be illegal, in many cases it's not taken for health-related purposes, as you'll see among the most commonly used recreational drugs in America.
A sin stock is a publicly traded company which engages in industries which, while legal, are considered unethical or immoral, with some examples including alcohol, tobacco, gambling and weapons companies. The reason many people prefer to invest in such companies is because of the fact that they are more immune to economic shocks and tend to outperform stocks in other sectors. Even in 2022, a pretty tough year for most stocks as the U.S. stock market saw its worst first half in more than five decades, sin stocks tended to outperform the broader market, especially in tobacco and alcohol.
20 most commonly used recreational drugs in America
Pixabay/Public Domain
Of course, this isn't limited to tobacco and alcohol alone; another addictive product is sugar, which is found in most products from The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which saw their stock increase by 22% in the last year, while the YTD gain in 2023 has been nearly 40% and we're only 5 months in. Social media companies and companies that produce necessary goods such as smartphones also seem to be immune to global economic shocks, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained nearly 40% in stock value in just YTD 2023. Even fast food, which is definitely an addiction for many and one of the primary causes of obesity, has had a stellar past year and Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has gained more than 20% in share price in the last year. All of this goes to show that in good times, but especially in economically uncertain times, investing in companies that make addictive products make for a great investment opportunity.
Meanwhile, instead of embracing this realization and legalizing some drugs, which don't destroy lives, the U.S. has waged a war on drugs for over 5 decades now, after the term was popularized by then U.S. President Richard Nixon, which has resulted in estimates that over $1 trillion has been spent on this war over the last 50 years, and the end result so far has been a huge loss. Instead of legalizing drugs such as marijuana which are still safer than perhaps alcohol and tobacco, and reap tax benefits from legalized sales of such products, the U.S. instead jailed hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, for minor offences, ruining their lives and exerting additional burden on the prison system in the country. Even now, while 33 states have legalized marijuana, federally, it is yet to be legalized. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, states where marijuana was legalized earned more than $3.7 billion in tax revenue in 2022 alone, while cities and towns have generated additional tax revenue as well.
However, revenue did decrease in 2022 as compared to 2021, with the Marijuana Policy Project stating "Although cannabis sales have continued to generate billions in annual tax revenue, 2022 marked the first year with a decrease in tax revenues compared to the prior year. Even as new states came online, we saw a slight decrease in total state cannabis tax revenue — from over $3.86 billion in 2021 compared to $3.77 billion in 2022. Prior to 2022, every legalization state had seen annual increases in cannabis tax revenue. In 2022, however, six states with the most mature legalization laws experienced decreases in cannabis tax revenue, while newer legalization states generated more cannabis tax revenue in 2022 than in 2021. Reasons for declining tax revenue include the widespread availability of intoxicating synthetic cannabinoids made from hemp, which are largely unregulated and not subjected to cannabis excise taxes; lower prices in several states due to oversupply; sales beginning in additional states — reducing demand from visitors in more mature states; consumers having less disposable income due to inflation; and — in California — the state reducing the tax rate to make legal cannabis more competitive. Cannabis businesses also face significant challenges due to ongoing federal prohibition, which drives up costs of rent, banking, and almost everything else, and results in an enormous federal tax burden. Those burdens do not apply to intoxicating cannabinoids derived from hemp."
One of the most commonly used recreational drugs in America are opioids, which have fueled one of the worst crises that America has faced in recent times. Drug overdose deaths quintupled from 1999, and even just between 2019 and 2020, increase by around 30%. In 2020, there were more than 90,000 drug overdose deaths, of which nearly 75% were because of opioid overdoses. Between 1999 and 2020, more than 564,000 people died from an opioid overdose, according to the CDC. Many companies have been called complicit in contributing to this opioid overdose, with lawsuits worth tens of billions of dollars being brought against them. In February 2022, 4 U.S. companies agreed to pay $26 billion to settle lawsuits which claimed they were responsible for the opioid crisis, even though they did not have to accept any guilt. These companies included Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC), Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) and McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK).
While the vast majority of the most commonly used recreational drugs in America are illegal, some of them are completely legal right now. To determine our list, we considered the usage of each drug as provided in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, prepared by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. For alcohol, we considered studies by Gallup which showed the percentage of alcohol drinkers and multiplied that by the adult population in the country. For vaping usage, we again used a percentage on the adult U.S. population based on data from Cross River Therapy. Finally, for cigarette usage, we used a new report by CNN which showed cigarette users as a percentage and again, multiplied it by the country's adult population. Our ranking is based on the total number of user of each drug in 2021. So, let's now take a look at the preferred choice of recreational drugs for Americans, starting with:
20. PCP
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 183
PCP is an illegal street drug which can cause major hallucinations, both audio and visuals. Even though PCP has been illegal for 45 years now, it is still among the most commonly used recreational drugs in America.
19. Sedatives
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 932
Sedatives, also often to referred to as downers and sleeping pills, include barbiturates and GHB among others.
18. Heroin
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 1,099
Lagging well behind other drugs is heroin, which also has a really high overdose rate because of the risks associated with ingesting the drug, in numerous possible ways.
17. Inhalants
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 2,178
Inhalants include "(1) amyl nitrite, “poppers,” locker room odorizers, or “rush”; (2) correction fluid, degreaser, or cleaning fluid; (3) gasoline or lighter fluid; (4) glue, shoe polish, or toluene; (5) halothane, ether, or other anesthetics; (6) lacquer thinner or other paint solvents; (7) lighter gases, such as butane or propane; (8) nitrous oxide or “whippits”; (9) felt-tip pens, felt-tip markers, or magic markers; (10) spray paints; (11) computer keyboard cleaner, also known as air duster; and (12) some other aerosol spray", according to the National Survey on Drug and Health. While the actual intention behind the production of these gases is household or industrial, many people use them receationally as well.
16. Ecstasy
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 2,199
Ecstasy is the drug of choice for parties, especially in raves. Also known as MDMA, the effects of the drug can last for four to six hours.
15. LSD
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 2,477
The effects of LSD can last between 12-24 hours generally, and yet, it is still extremely popular because of the euphoric effect it can provide, not to mention the hallucinations triggered by the drug.
14. Methamphetamine
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 2,549
One of the most dangerous drugs out there, and yet still among the most commonly used recreational drugs in America is methamphetamine, more commonly known as meth. According to a 2005 study published in 2005 in the National Institutes of Health, around 12.3 million Americans had tried meth at least once. And if there's one universal fact about meth, it's that it is almost impossible not to try again.
13. Stimulants
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 3,733
Stimulants can be prescribed for various purposes including to lose weight, to treat attention deficit disorder or just to remain awake. The number used to determine the usage of stimulations however does not include over-the-counter stimulants such as 5-Hour Energy or Hydroxycut.
12. Benzodiazepines
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 3,941
Benzodiazepines are sedative medication which are used to relax both the body and the brain's functions. Misuse of Benzodiazepines result in dependence and are considered to be among the most commonly used recreational drugs in America.
11. Tranquilizers
Usage in 2021 (in thousands): 4,317
Tranquilizers are generally prescribed by doctors to relax or calm down patients, to relax muscle spasms or to relieve anxiety. Xylazine is one of the most popular tranquilizers which hasn't even been approved for human use, but is a major contributor in overdose deaths.
