From alcohol to cigarettes, most adults have tried some form of recreational drugs. Few people have tried prescription drugs for recreational reasons, but some parts of the country are facing serious problems with opioid addiction.Occasional use of other drugs such as cocaine and LSD among U.S. adults
Using data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive, experts at health data site HealthGrove ranked the 25 most commonly used recreational drugs. The substances were ordered by percentage increase in recreational use of the drug among people 12 years of age and older in 2015. In the event of a tie, drugs with higher DEA classifications are ranked higher.
To collect these data, SAMHDA conducts the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in which they document the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the U.S. population 12 years of age or older. It is important to note that this data only includes recreational use of drugs and does not include appropriate medical use.
Legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco, have the highest recreational use. Nearly one in five people over the age of 12 also used marijuana in 2015, according to the survey. Recreational use could increase if the drug is legalized in more states. Other Schedule I drugs (drugs that the DEA determines have no medical benefit), including heroin and DMT, had a recreational prevalence of less than 1% in 2015.
NOTE: Not all images in the slides depict the exact drug.