I wouldn't say that all illegal drug use is "ingrained" in American society. Among many metalheads, smoking pot is considered acceptable. I've never been to an outdoor Maiden show where the smell of pot wasn't all around - heck, last night at the Albuquerque show, the dude next to me was smoking it. (Then 5 minutes later, he got violently ill and missed most of the show. I wonder if there was more than pot in that joint he smoked.)
Many people in the US do at least "experiment" with drug in their youth. It's probably at least two-thirds of all people. But only a tiny percentage continue to use anything harder than pot for very long. I'd guess that maybe one in ten adults smoke pot on a regular basis ... not meaning every day, but perhaps a few times per month. But most adults abstain for various reasons - drug tests at work, not exposing their kids to drugs, etc.
There have been some studies and polls which suggest that smoking pot is becoming more socially acceptable in the US. For instance, right here in Denver, the voters passed a measure in the 2004 election to make pot legal here by city law. (Meaningless in reality, because it's still illegal by state and US law, which supercede city law.) However, a 2006 ballot item to make it legal by state law - therefore, the whole state of Colorado voting on it instead of just Denver residents - failed. This suggests that urban culture likes getting high, while rural folks don't.
As to Bruce onstage - he made what I'd describe as sarcastic remarks about smoking pot at the Denver show in 2005 ... "Is that as loud as you can scream? All that weed you're smoking is making you too mellow!" (Or something to that effect.) But despite Albuquerque stinking of pot last night, Bruce never mentioned it. However, the winds last night were strong and gusty - so much that it was creating problems with the backdrops onstage. (Which Bruce did mention at one point, saying they had people working to fix the backdrops.) So even though I could smell it from my 13th row seat, Bruce may not have smelled it onstage ... the wind was really whipping around the band up there.
The only item of interest to report from Albuquerque is about retirement rumors:
Bruce said that since they keep see more and more people in the crowds every year, the band is not quitting anytime soon - even asking rhetorically, "Why would we?"
Bear in mind that part of Bruce's job is to fire up the crowd, and such statements from the stage may not mean much. But it's still encouraging.
Otherwise, the Albuquerque show was exactly as expected: FUCKIN' GREAT.