Prohibition had a major effect on the amount of drug use in America. People normally drank alcohol at saloons. These same people now had to drink alcohol at speakeasies. The environment at speakeasies was nothing like the environment at saloons. At speakeasies their was also drug use and prostitution. This exposed people to other drugs such as narcotics, hashish, and marijuana.  These drugs were much more addictive and much more dangerous than alcohol.

Tobacco also became more popular during Prohibition. It is also more deadly than alcohol. Tobacco was the next substance that people wanted to prohibit. There were already laws prohibiting tobacco in fourteen states and bills were pending in twenty eight other states. When alcohol was prohibited by the same people pressing the bills to ban tobacco, it made it almost irresistible to start smoking. During prohibition cigarette consumption almost tripled. This led to many more people being harmed due to Prohibition.