The UN has released the 2011 World Drug Report. Cannabis is still the favored illegal drug in almost all countries:
On the harmfulness of different drugs:
The latest US show that, on average, three persons per 100 annual drug users had to undergo treatment for drug use in 2008. Opiates use is far more problematic than the use of other illicit drugs. The rate for heroin is much higher than the average, at 22 for 100 users, that is, more than one out of five users enters treatment. Though treatment demand for prescription opioids has been rising far stronger in the USA (460% between 1998 and 2008) than heroin-related treatment demand (8%), only 1 out of 100 people who misuse prescription opioids enter treatment. The corresponding rates amounted to between four and five per 100 users for cocaine and amphetamines (‘stimulants’) and one per 100 users for cannabis in 2008.
Other highlights here.
The Dish 