Some places people seem to turn to opiates. Some places it's speed. Some places it's alcohol.
Quite what results in a given area having a given addiction of choice I'm not sure, but it can definitely vary over time - some parts of britain had a generational thing where the older addicts were all alcoholics and the younger ones were all on heroin, but my father (who worked in probation) said that among his clients other than the choice of substance affecting what sort of physical damage they suffered the rest of the issues were basically identical.
Quite what results in a given area having a given addiction of choice I'm not sure, but it can definitely vary over time - some parts of britain had a generational thing where the older addicts were all alcoholics and the younger ones were all on heroin, but my father (who worked in probation) said that among his clients other than the choice of substance affecting what sort of physical damage they suffered the rest of the issues were basically identical.