History of Drugs in America Statistics

History of Drugs in America Statistics

By the Numbers

Colonial Virginia's Tobacco Production

1618: 20,000 pounds
1622: 60,000 pounds
1627: 500,000 pounds
1630: 1.5 million pounds2

Per Capita Consumption of Coffee in the U.S.

1830: 3 pounds
1850: 5.5 pounds
1859: 8 pounds
1900: 12 pounds
1939: 14 pounds
1941: 16.5 pounds
1946: 19.8 pounds
1999: 10 pounds1

Cigarettes Consumed in America

1875: 42 million
1880: 500 million
1889: 2.2 billion
1920: 100 billion
1980: 630 billion
2000: 415 billion3

American Deaths from Lung Cancer

1933: 2357
1940: 7121
1956: 29,0004

Federal Prison and the War on Drugs

Number of inmates in federal prisons in 1970, at the outset of the War on Drugs: 300,000
Number of inmates in federal prisons in 2000: 1 million
Number of inmates in federal prisons on drug-related charges in 2000: 500,0005