More expensive, name-brand items go by the wayside during tough times. This year, 75 percent of the prescriptions filled in the U.S. were for generic drugs, compared to 73 percent in 2010, and the stock price for generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceutical has gone skyward since the recession as more people turn to cheaper medicines. According to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, Americans who chose generic over brand-name drugs saved $158 billion last year. And on a weird, related note, studies show that cocaine users have switched to prescription drugs because they’re cheaper and easier to get their hands on. But it doesn’t appear to have caused a substantial increase in prescription drug sales.