BROCKTON NEAR TOP OF THE LIST OF GETTING HIGH

At least Boston has an excuse for having the highest marijuana use in
the country at more than 12 percent. It has one of the highest
concentrations of college students, among the more typical pot
smokers. But what excuse does Brockton and the rest of southeastern
Massachusetts have for being not far behind at 9.5 percent? That is
nearly double the national average, according to the report just
released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, ranking
the region up with northern California and college-town Boulder, Colo.
In fact, of the 15 regions with the highest rates of marijuana use in
the United States, five were in Massachusetts. The report doesn't
address what to do about this problem, just gives us the facts.
Several critics were quick to jump on the report, claiming the data is
flawed or outdated, but it still should send a message that the war on
drugs is far from over.

It also should tell us that discredited programs like D.A.R.E and its
clones just don't work. We don't pretend to have the answer to
stopping drug use, but sending cops to schools to cozy up to the
younger students has failed. Statistics show that a certain percentage
of these students will still grow up to smoke marijuana and do harder
drugs and Officer Friendly can't do a thing about it. Programs like
"Just Say No" had more success, but were hooted and degraded by people
who thought "family values" was a quaint concept that had no real
place in modern society.

The movement to decriminalize marijuana use (medical marijuana is
another issue) has slowed down in the light of evidence that smoking
pot really is bad for you. And how would we ever be able to tell our
children not to take drugs if there is no law against it? Kids are
smarter than we think and more aware of what is happening around them.

But they also are heavily influenced by their peers, leading to the
pack mentality that is reflected in the numbers of the marijuana-use
survey. Massachusetts has nothing to be proud of for topping the list,
but things could be worse. We could be North Dakota, which, for
reasons unknown to us, tops the list in binge drinking. It must have
something to do with the cold.