ARTICLE
New Study Shows Areas with Highest, Lowest Marijuana Use

A recently released study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals that Boulder, Colorado and Boston lead the nation in marijuana use. The lowest use was found in northwestern Iowa and southern Texas.

The study marks the first time that the U.S. government has examined the use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol by region rather than state. These regions varied in size and were designated by the states.

The areas reporting highest marijuana usage were a rural and urban mix from across the nation, but many of the highest reporting regions have at least one thing in common. College towns repeatedly appeared in the SAMHSA report, perhaps due to the fact that younger populations tend to experiment more with risky behaviors.

In Boston, the home of Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern and several other colleges, 12.2 percent of the population reported using marijuana in the past 30 days.

In Boulder, the home of the University of Colorado, 10.3 percent of the population reported using marijuana during those 30 days.

The national average was 5.1 percent.

In addition to rates of marijuana usage, the survey also measures 11 other categories. SAMHSA officials chose to highlight the marijuana report due to the drug's status as the most commonly used illicit drug.

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(Source: http://www.ap.org and http://www.samhsa.gov.)