The United States, despite being home to just 5 percent of the world's population, accounts for 80 percent of global opioid use. Data from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics indicate there were an estimated nearly 110,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2023.
The root causes of the drug epidemic in the United States are the country's own weak capabilities and ineffective control. On the other hand, interest groups use partisanship and money politics to conduct political bribery to push for the legalization of marijuana. As of December 2023, 24 states have legalized recreational weed in America.