22 MILLION AMERICANS ABUSE DRUGS, ALCOHOL, SURVEY SAYS

WASHINGTON - About 22 million people in the United States abused or were
dependent on alcohol, drugs or both last year, but only a fraction received
treatment, the government said Friday.

The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health also said nearly 20 million
people were current users of illegal drugs, with such use highest among young
adults.

More than one in five 18- to 25-year-olds, or 20.2 percent of young adults,
were current users, with marijuana being the drug of choice, the survey said.

Current users are those who said they had used an illegal drug within the past
month.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of
the Department of Health and Human Services, conducts the yearlong study.
Formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, it is the largest
of its kind by the government. Results are based on interviews with nearly
70,000 people ages 12 and older from all 50 states.

The 2001 survey found 15.9 million illegal drug users in the United States,
including one in five young adults, or those 18 to 25 years old.

About 3.5 million people received some kind of treatment last year for alcohol
or use of illicit drugs including marijuana, cocaine, pain relievers or heroin.
Most, or 2.2 million, were treated for alcohol.

Among youths, nearly 12 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds were current users of
illicit drugs.

Just 5.8 percent of adults aged 26 or older reported using illegal drugs.

Rates of current illegal drug use were highest among American Indians/Alaska
natives, 10.1 percent; people of two or more races, 11.4 percent; and jobless
adults aged 18 or older, 17.4 percent.

Other Survey Findings:

* The percentage of youths who said they ever had used marijuana declined
slightly, from 21.9 percent in 2001 to 20.6 percent.

* Young adults who ever had used marijuana increased slightly, from 53 percent
in 2001 to 53.8 percent last year.