STUDY: TEEN DRUG USE HIGHER IN RURAL AREAS THAN CITIES.

Teenagers in rural America are using drugs at a higher rate than their
urban peers, according to a major study presented to the nation's mayors on
Wednesday.

"We have to recognize that this drug problem affects kids everywhere, and
we can no longer treat it as an urban problem," said Joseph Califano Jr.,
president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University.

He presented the findings to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington.

"We now have a situation where eighth-graders (in small towns) are using
drugs at much higher rates, whether it's crack, methamphetamines, alcohol
or tobacco," he said.

Researchers analyzed data from federal, state and local sources, including
the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of
Justice and local police.

The study shows that rural eighth-graders in the past month were:

o Twice as likely to have used amphetamines, including methamphetamines,
than those in large metropolitan areas (5.1% of rural teens vs. 2.5% of
urban teens).

o 83% more likely to have used crack cocaine.

o 50% more likely to have used cocaine. No- 34% more likely to have smoked
marijuana.

o 29% more likely to have drunk alcohol, and 70% more likely to have been
intoxicated.

o More than twice as likely to have smoked cigarettes, and nearly five
times more likely to have used smokeless tobacco.

The study, billed as the first of its kind to look at the problem by
population centers, shows that adult drug use is about the same, whatever
the community size, and drugs are equally easy to obtain.

But experts said rural areas are especially vulnerable to certain drugs:
Methamphetamines are manufactured in the countryside because the strong
odor can be easily hidden; drug dealers find it easier to operate in small
towns; and drug smugglers are moving into rural areas.

The findings "should be a wake-up call," said Howard Simon, spokesman for
Partnership for a Drug-Free America.