1596 Drug Down

It seems like the bad economy has finally accomplished something that billions of dollars of law enforcement has been unable to do.
Make drug usage go down.
Or at least redirect it. From 2006 to 2010, the number of methamphetamine users dropped 50%, all the way down to 353,000 people. Which is an interesting statistic in a way. It says that at the peak of meth use, there were only 700,000 tweakers out there.
Now I agree, even one user is bad. But 700,000 out of a population of 311 million is not a huge percentage. Cocaine use also went down from 2.4 million users to 1.5 million. A large drop, but again, not a huge number to start with.
Still, there's no denying the small amount of users still cause a disproportionate amount of damage. Not to mention depleting Sudafed supplies for allergy sufferers. And probably driving up the price.
Why should we suffer expensive snuffles because of tweakers? So big thanks to law enforcement from us hay fever victims.
Unfortunately, drug usage hasn't declined everywhere. There's one place where it's higher. And I do mean higher. Marijuana usage has gone up. While cocaine and meth usage declined by a total of about a million, marijuana users went up about 3 million. From 14.4 to 17.4 million.
Maybe it’s the economy. Grass is still cheaper than crack or crank. (Do they call it grass anymore?) And the decline could be because tweakers are either in jail already or blown up in cheap lab accidents.
Maybe it's part of America's whole return to whole foods and organic alternatives. Chemical drugs just don't seem as green as potted plants.
Or it could be something else entirely. Maybe it’s the meth and cocaine that are gateway drugs. And marijuana is the ultimate addiction.
Nah... It's probably the economy. But does that mean it's drug down or up in smoke?
America, ya gotta love it.