Let’s take a look at some numbers:

and:

Both from “National Survey on Drug Use and Health”.

Found over at Vistabay.com: “Teen & Adult Drug Use Statistics that will blow your mind“.

Why Statistics Often Promote Even More Drug Use

Do you know these ads stating x thousand people start smoking every day? Or x millions are addicted to drug y?

While many politicans use statistics like the above to show how serious the problem is they  often have a counterproductive effect.

The mind thinks kinda like that: If millions of people smoke Marijuana, if millions of people try/use cocaine or crack - it can’t be that bad. If they’re doing it it’s socialy ok for me to do so, too.