Americans like to get high -- and so what?

The U.S. is still a global leader in at least one area: getting high! According to a new World Health Organization survey of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine use, "Globally, drug use is not distributed evenly. In general, the US had among the highest levels of use of all drugs. Much lower levels were observed in lower income countries in Africa and the Middle East, and lower levels of use were reported in the Asian locales covered."

This is especially remarkable, given the fanatical "war on drugs" and puritanical attacks on alcohol and tobacco consumption Americans have suffered in recent years. Indeed, the WHO study found that punitive policies do little or nothing to reduce demand for intoxicants.

The US, which has been driving much of the world's drug research and drug policy agenda, stands out with higher levels of use of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis, despite punitive illegal drug policies, as well as (in many US states), a higher minimum legal alcohol drinking age than many comparable developed countries. The Netherlands, with a less criminally punitive approach to cannabis use than the US, has experienced lower levels of use, particularly among younger adults. Clearly, by itself, a punitive policy towards possession and use accounts for limited variation in nation-level rates of illegal drug use.

The biggest factor for drug use seems to be income: affluent people can afford to get high, and across the world they tend to take advantage of their opportunities. Illegal drugs (cannabis and cocaine) are primarily consumed by single people. If you're living alone and you're rolling in the dough, there's a good chance that you're a head -- especially if you're American.

So, why are people -- especially us tipsy Yanks -- so prone to use drugs, even when the law dictates otherwise? Could it be that people perceive that they gain some benefit from using intoxicants?

That's a good question to ask on day when not only news of the WHO survey makes headlines, but we also read reports that hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms causes many users to feel "spiritual" effects that actually improve their health.

In a previous study, the researchers gave psilocybin to 36 healthy, well-educated volunteers with active spiritual lives. After taking the substance under controlled conditions, 60 percent of the participants reported have a "full mystical experience."

When the researchers checked with the volunteers 14 months later, the same percentage said taking psilocybin increased their sense of well-being or life satisfaction.

"Most of the volunteers looked back on their experience up to 14 months later and rated it as the most, or one of the five most, personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives," lead investigator Roland Griffiths, a professor in the departments of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neuroscience, said in a prepared statement.

The drug is reported in the Journal of Psychopharmacology to have positive effects on "people with conditions such as cancer, depression and drug dependence." The researchers found no evidence of harm from the drug experiences.

This is a factor that is often missing from reports about drug use. Countering the risks of even the most potentially dangerous intoxicants are benefits enjoyed by users that partially or complete offset the downside. People get high because they get something valuable out of their experiences. That's something sufficiently valuable that the threat of legal penalties acts as no real deterrent.

There's a lesson in there for policy makers -- if they're paying attention.