SUBSTANCE ABUSE UP SINCE SEPT. 11, STUDY INDICATES

NEW YORK -- Drug and alcohol abuse appears to be up in many parts of the
country since Sept. 11, especially in New York City and Washington, a
survey suggests.

"These are people who are self-medicating because of the stress they feel,"
said Joseph Califano Jr., president of the Columbia University National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, which conducted the survey. "I
think we have the beginnings of a self-medicating epidemic."

The conclusion that drug and alcohol abuse has in-creased was drawn
indirectly, based on reports of people seeking substance-abuse treatment.

The Columbia center surveyed public agencies that monitor drug and alcohol
abuse and received responses from 41 states and eight of the 10 largest
U.S. cities.

Substance abuse treatment was found to have increased substantially in New
York City and Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New
York state.

Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi,
Nebraska, South Dakota and Tennessee reported increases, although smaller
ones, as did Dallas and Los Angeles.

Columbia researchers relied on the public agencies to assess treatment
rates. States typically drew on data such as treatment center admissions,
emergency room visits and counseling sessions. In New York City, for
instance, counseling sessions increased by more than 20 percent.

Nationwide, admissions to treatment facilities increased 10 percent to 12
percent since Sept. 11, the Columbia center reported. The center collected
national data separately with the help of the University of Pennsylvania
Treatment Re-search Institute.

Researchers said that fear and anxiety over the terrorist attacks have been
compounded by the anthrax scare, the war in Afghanistan, warnings of more
terrorist plots and extensive news coverage of the crisis.

The result: "chronic, un-remitting stress," said Barbara Woods, a
psychologist who has seen an increase in her practice in Bethesda, Md. "Our
central nervous systems, they just need a break. Even the strongest system
can only take so much."

The Columbia survey comes after other reports about increased stress. For
example, new prescriptions for sleep aids rose by more than 25 percent in
New York City immediately after the attacks.

Califano predicted that drug and alcohol abuse will grow as time passes. He
pointed out that Oklahoma recorded increases in treatment rates two years
after the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.