BOULDER, COLO., AND BOSTON ARE NO. 1 IN THE NATION - IN MARIJUANA SMOKING

WASHINGTON - Boulder, Colo., and Boston are both college towns, and they
share another distinction: They lead the nation in marijuana use.
Northwestern Iowa and southern Texas have the lowest use.

For the first time, the government looked at the use of drugs, cigarettes,
alcohol and various other substances, legal as well as illegal, by region
rather than by state for a report Thursday.

Regions could be as specific as Riverside, Calif., or as broad as all of the
state of New York (minus New York City). Federal officials say the
information will help states decide where to spend money for treatment and
prevention programs.

For marijuana, 5.1 percent of people around the country reported using
marijuana in the previous 30 days. In Boston, the home of Harvard, Boston
University, Boston College, Northeastern and several other colleges, 12.2
percent reported using marijuana in the previous 30 days.

John Auerbach, executive director of the public health commission for the
city of Boston, said the survey might not reflect current marijuana use in
Boston because the data came from 1999-2001 national surveys.

"All that said, we're not surprised that substance abuse is a serious issue
in the Boston area," Auerbach said. "The mayor and the health department
have made the issue of substance abuse a top public health priority."

In Boulder County, the home of the University of Colorado, 10.3 percent
reported using marijuana during the same time period.

Federal officials said they highlighted the marijuana report because it's
the most commonly used illicit drug. But the survey also measures 11 other
categories.

For example, the survey measures binge drinking - defined as five or more
drinks in one setting.

Nationally, 20 percent of people age 12 and older reported one or more
episodes of binge drinking in the previous month.

Boston scored high in that category, too, with nearly 30 percent of
respondents acknowledging binge drinking. But the Northeast and Southeast
regions of North Dakota reported binge drinking among 32 percent of
residents of that age group. Overall, North Dakota had the highest rate of
binge drinking when compared with other states - 29.2 percent.