BOSTON, BOULDER LEAD IN POT USE

WASHINGTON (AP) - Both college towns, Boston and Boulder, Colo., 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 yesterday.

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 they should 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 Boston
University, Boston College, Northeastern and several other colleges -
Harvard and MIT are in neighboring Cambridge, Mass. - 12.2 percent reported
using marijuana in the previous 30 days.

In Boulder County, the home of the University of Colorado, 10.3 percent
reported using marijuana during the same time period. 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." Auerbach also acknowledged
that the data may reflect the city's significant 20-something population.

"College students in general have a more relaxed attitude about marijuana
than other age groups. But in general, I don't think Boston has a markedly
differently perspective on marijuana than other parts of the country."
Other areas of Massachusetts also reported relatively high marijuana use on
the government survey: southeast Massachusetts at 9.53 percent and central
Massachusetts at 9 percent.

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 during 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. "The further north you are, typically, the more
alcohol is consumed," said Douglas Wright, a mathematical statistician with
the federal government who helped put the report together.