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DrugScreening.org


 
Study: Not Much Marijuana Use in Alabama
August 24, 2004

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Research Summary

The lowest rate of marijuana use in the U.S. is in Alabama, where only 4.4 percent of people aged 12 and older used the drug, well below the 6.2 percent national average, the Florence Times Daily reported Aug. 23.

A study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showed that the District of Columbia had the highest rate of current marijuana use, at 10.8 percent.

"That seems surprising to me that Alabama would come in last," said Jeff Baker, director of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation's substance-abuse north regional clearinghouse. "I know that around this area, in the area that we cover, marijuana is pretty widely abused."

The low use rates could be related to negative perceptions of drug use in the Bible Belt and certain conservative Midwestern states. "The overall perception of drug use by the population is going to have a direct effect on its usage," said Baker. "That attitude would influence everyone in the society to a point. The end result in that would be a lower-than-average rate of abuse."

In Alabama, a strong prevention system involves support from local groups and schools, another possible factor in marijuana use. "It all kind of works together," Baker said. "People having that attitude would account for why prevention is given such a high priority in the state."

The report was based on 2002 data from a survey of 68,126 people and included the percentage of past-month illegal drug use, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and prescription drugs used for non-medical purposes.

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