What is the most consumed drug?

Let's see which is the most consumed drug, differentiating between legal and illegal substances.

Drug use is causing more deaths than ever before and the illegal market continues to expand every year. These are some of the conclusions of which the UN has warned in its latest World Drug Report (2019) and in which more than half a million deaths per year due to the consumption of these substances are estimated.

In addition to the danger that illegal psychoactive substances pose to people's lives, legal drugs are also currently wreaking havoc on public health at the international level and present a real danger to society, although their real harmful effects are not so widely perceived by the majority of the population.

In order to gain a clear understanding of which are the most widely consumed drugs in the worldHere we will see a list of the substances that have more used distinguishing between the legal and the illegal ones.

What is the most consumed drug?

The distinction between legal and illegal substances changes what we can consider the most consumed drug in the world. In any case, the "champions" in each category are substances that are widely consumed and pose a real social problem.

1. Illegal Drugs

Illegal drugs are psychoactive substances whose consumption or distribution is penalized by the legal and juridical system of a country.. Although the legislation on each substance may vary depending on the country, especially in the case of cannabis, in general the drugs prosecuted by law are always the same. The following are the most widely consumed illegal drugs today.

1.1. Cannabis

If we focus on illegal psychoactive substances, cannabis is the most widely consumed drug worldwide. The low risk perception of this drug among the public, especially in the youth population, is one of the factors that explain its high percentage of users, but there are also other elements to be taken into account. The low risk perception of this drug among the public, especially among young people, is one of the factors that explain its high percentage of consumers, but there are also other elements to be taken into account.

Among the factors that make possible the increased consumption of cannabis in the world, we can highlight, first of all, the different processes of legalization or regulation of the legal status of this drug in several western countries; and besides that, it is also relevant to mention the wide variety of ways of consuming cannabis that currently exist in the market, such as pipes, sprays or vaporizers, some of them perceived as less harmful to health.

These factors create a less dangerous perception of cannabis in a sector of the population, a vision that does not correspond to reality or to the harmful effects of this drug and its main psychoactive component: THC.

Some of the effects of frequent use of THC are short-term memory loss, anxiety episodes, difficulty in controlling one's body and dependence on the substance. In addition to that, some of the long-term physical effects can be respiratory diseases or the possibility of psychiatric disorders such as psychosis outbreaks..

1.2. Cocaine

Cocaine is the second most abused illegal drug in the world. Its high price in relation to other drugs such as cannabis has made it for decades the most widely used illegal drug in the world. the stimulant drug par excellence of people with purchasing power..

The most common way of consuming this drug is in powder form, by snorting the well-known "cocaine stripes" via the nose, but there are also other ways of consuming it.

Whatever the way cocaine is consumed, its effects are highly pernicious, its effects are highly pernicious for the health of any person.The most notable physical effects are nausea, tremors, difficulty breathing, the propensity to get involved in fights or cause accidents, persecution mania or possible death in cases of overdose. It is also highly addictive.

1.3. MDMA

MDMA or ecstasy is the most popular and widely consumed synthetic drug in the world. The main areas where this drug is consumed are usually nightlife venues such as discotheques, parties or raves, whose attendees tend to take it for its high levels of ecstasy.The main areas where this drug is consumed are usually nightclubs, parties or raves, whose attendees usually take it for its stimulant effects.

The most prominent effects on the body are a potentially dangerous increase in Blood pressure, jaw tension, dizziness and, in cases of high consumption, kidney failure, loss of consciousness or convulsions.

In addition to that, the main psychological effects are disinhibition, illogical thoughts, hallucinations and also loss of cognitive functions.The long-term effects of repeated use.

2. Legal Drugs

Legal drugs are all those psychoactive substances that despite having negative effects on the organism and the possibility of creating dependence in human beings, in addition to other health problems, their consumption and distribution are permitted in most countries of the world.

Alcohol

Alcohol is the most widely consumed legal drug in the world today, the age of onset of substance use, as well as the number of cases of addiction, is decreasing in developed countries. in developed countries.

This increase in young drinkers and adolescent addicts is due, in part, to the popularity of alcohol in most societies, to the effect of the somewhat unregulated advertising of alcoholic beverages on the population and to the conception that adolescents have of this product as a beverage for socializing and linked to adult and festive environments.

The health risks associated with alcohol consumption are not fully perceived by society in general, but the fact is that this substance is one of the drugs that causes the most deaths in the world. is one of the drugs that causes the most deaths each year worldwide..

The main effects of alcohol on the body are motor incoordination, acute detoxification and, in extreme cases, high consumption can cause an alcoholic coma or death. Psychologically, its effects are disinhibition, difficulty in speaking, and difficulty in reasoning and association of ideas.

2.2. Tobacco

Tobacco is another of the most normalized and popular legal drugs in the world. Despite the various anti-smoking campaigns carried out over the last few decades in Western countries, which have significantly reduced the number of consumers worldwide, at present more than 1 billion people worldwide still smoke regularly..

The main harmful effects of nicotine in tobacco are premature fatigue, loss of appetite, increased heart rate and an increased risk of angina, cancer and other diseases of the respiratory system.

2.3. Hypnosedatives

Hypnosedatives are drugs that have a sedative effect on the central nervous system and also generate dependence in the organism.. In high doses, its effects can diminish the person's reflexes, cause numbness and even lead to coma.

This type of substance is increasingly consumed in the world, becoming the third most consumed legal drug in the world.

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