Drug Use is the U.S. is a Rampant, Incredibly Costly Problem and There's No End in Sight

Baseball, fast food, the Statue of Liberty and rampant drug use? Whether it be prescription drugs or recreational narcotics, no other nation in the world spends as much or consumes the grandiose quantities of marijuana, cocaine and heroin that the United States does. To put matters into perspective, Rehabs.com has created an interactive visualization of the U.S. black market economy, highlighting the deaths, consumption and money associated with the trade of drugs and weapons. The visualization uses a football field, pick-up truck, house and Statue of Liberty to provide context for the staggering figures. Total expenditures in the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, even in combination with Wal-Mart's WMT 2012 profits pale in comparison to North America's cost of cocaine consumption, extenuated even more when compared to the societal cost of drug use in healthcare expenditures and reduced productivity. Here's a look at the United States' cocaine and heroin consumption habits: All in all, the U.S. government's War on Drugs has totaled more than $1 billion since 1971. That amounts to an average of $23.4 billion per year! The Rehabs.com project has loads of other statistics. Check out the visualizations for yourself!