By Steven S. Epstein
This summer the federal government released “State Estimates of Substance Use and Mental Disorders from the 2008-2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” It’s a state- by-state (including the District of Columbia) estimate of self-reported licit and illicit substance use and perceptions. This publication may be downloaded from: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k9state/Cover.pdf.
Once again, Massachusetts ranks in the top ten in all marijuana categories, joined by Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Connecticut does make the top ten in some categories.
As the survey data relies on self reporting, perhaps the most important survey question is not past year and past month use which respondents may be unwilling to answer accurately, but the data gathered asking “perception of Great Risk of Smoking Once a Month.” Answering this question in the negative does not imply one is a consumer.
Surprisingly absent from most of the top ten cohorts are California and Washington, two states in which initiatives to “legalize” are working their way toward the November 2012 ballot.
Conducted by the Federal Government since 1971, the survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence. The survey is planned and managed by SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ), formerly SAMHSA’s Office of Applied Studies.
The survey covers residents of households, noninstitutional group quarters (e.g., shelters, rooming houses, dormitories), and civilians living on military bases. Persons excluded from the survey include homeless people who do not use shelters, active military personnel, and residents of institutional group quarters, such as prisons and long-term hospitals.
Commenting on the survey results in a recent blog post on NORML.ORG, NORML’s Deputy Director, Paul Armentano, wrote:
- Þ The findings are notable because they are consistent from previous years and provide plenty of fodder for combating numerous drug warrior myths and stereotypes (such as the notion that high rates of illicit drug use – yes, the New England states lead in this broader category too – are typically relegated to poorer, urban, more racially diverse areas).
- Þ They also call into question the notion that marijuana use among the general population is in any way influenced by the legal status of marijuana. State criminal penalties for cannabis vary widely across the New England states. For instance, Maine’s decriminalization law (possession of up to 2.5 ounces is a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine) is among the most liberal in the country. Conversely, New Hampshire (up to one year in jail) and Rhode Island (up to one year in jail and a six month driver’s license suspension) maintain relatively strict penalties. Yet regardless of state law, marijuana use remains similar throughout the region. Ed. Note: Massachusetts’ decrim had barely taken affect when the 2009 data was collected.
- Þ Likewise, nationally, Mississippi and Nebraska – which enjoy some of the most liberal marijuana laws (simple possession is a summons and a civil violation, respectively) – also rank among the lowest rates of self-reported cannabis use.
|
Past Year Use |
|
Past Month Use |
|
Perception of Great Risk |
||||||
|
12+ |
|
12+ |
|
12+ |
||||||
|
1 |
Alaska | 16.29 |
1 |
Alaska |
11.53 |
1 |
New Hampshire |
25.34 |
||
|
2 |
Vermont | 15.97 |
2 |
Vermont |
10.83 |
2 |
Vermont |
25.35 |
||
|
3 |
Colorado | 15.09 |
3 |
Rhode Island |
9.98 |
3 |
Massachusetts |
25.60 |
||
|
4 |
New Hampshire | 14.88 |
4 |
Maine |
9.88 |
4 |
Washington |
26.33 |
||
|
5 |
Massachusetts | 14.55 |
5 |
Colorado |
9.82 |
5 |
Colorado |
26.77 |
||
|
6 |
Oregon | 14.45 |
6 |
New Hampshire |
9.67 |
6 |
Oregon |
26.83 |
||
|
7 |
Rhode Island | 14.32 |
7 |
Oregon |
9.30 |
7 |
Alaska |
27.77 |
||
|
8 |
D.C. | 14.29 |
8 |
Massachusetts |
8.70 |
8 |
Maine |
28.15 |
||
|
9 |
Maine | 13.56 |
9 |
D.C. |
8.51 |
9 |
Minnesota |
28.49 |
||
|
10 |
California | 12.88 |
10 |
Hawaii |
8.48 |
10 |
Rhode Island |
28.52 |
||
|
13 |
Connecticut | 12.53 |
15 |
Connecticut |
7.24 |
14 |
Connecticut |
33.12 |
||
|
|
Total US | 10.82 |
|
Total US |
6.36 |
|
Total US |
36.06 |
||
|
12 to 17 |
|
12 to 17 |
|
12 to 17 |
||||||
|
1 |
Colorado | 18.55 |
1 |
Colorado |
10.19 |
1 |
New Hampshire |
23.39 |
||
|
2 |
Oregon | 18.29 |
2 |
Vermont |
9.73 |
2 |
Vermont |
23.95 |
||
|
3 |
New Mexico | 16.79 |
3 |
New Hampshire |
9.67 |
3 |
Massachusetts |
24.38 |
||
|
4 |
Vermont | 16.64 |
4 |
New Mexico |
9.22 |
4 |
Colorado |
25.15 |
||
|
5 |
New Hampshire | 16.58 |
5 |
Alaska |
9.18 |
5 |
Oregon |
26.52 |
||
|
6 |
Nevada | 16.40 |
6 |
Rhode Island |
9.11 |
6 |
D.C. |
27.67 |
||
|
7 |
Massachusetts | 16.38 |
7 |
Massachusetts |
9.05 |
7 |
Alaska |
27.96 |
||
|
8 |
Rhode Island | 16.35 |
8 |
Nevada |
8.97 |
8 |
California |
28.19 |
||
|
9 |
Connecticut | 15.89 |
9 |
Montana |
8.80 |
9 |
Rhode Island |
28.44 |
||
|
10 |
Alaska | 15.87 |
10 |
Oregon |
8.69 |
10 |
Connecticut |
28.63 |
||
|
|
Total US | 13.28 |
13 |
Connecticut |
8.37 |
|
Total US |
32.28 |
||
|
|
Total US |
6.98 |
||||||||
|
18 to 25 |
|
18 to 25 |
|
18 to 25 |
||||||
|
1 |
Vermont |
45.02 |
1 |
Vermont |
30.56 |
1 |
Vermont |
11.73 |
||
|
2 |
New Hampshire |
41.82 |
2 |
New Hampshire |
27.39 |
2 |
New Hampshire |
12.37 |
||
|
3 |
Massachusetts |
40.19 |
3 |
Rhode Island |
27.09 |
3 |
Massachusetts |
13.42 |
||
|
4 |
Maine |
39.65 |
4 |
Maine |
26.15 |
4 |
Rhode Island |
14.33 |
||
|
5 |
Rhode Island |
39.43 |
5 |
Alaska |
25.21 |
5 |
Colorado |
14.95 |
||
|
6 |
Colorado |
38.50 |
6 |
Massachusetts |
24.79 |
6 |
Maine |
14.98 |
||
|
7 |
Oregon |
37.35 |
7 |
Colorado |
24.31 |
7 |
Oregon |
15.22 |
||
|
8 |
Connecticut |
36.95 |
8 |
Oregon |
23.84 |
8 |
Montana |
16.42 |
||
|
9 |
New York |
36.37 |
9 |
New York |
23.14 |
9 |
Washington |
16.57 |
||
|
10 |
Delaware |
35.93 |
10 |
Delaware |
22.54 |
10 |
DC |
16.89 |
||
|
|
Total US |
29.08 |
11 |
Connecticut |
22.52 |
13 |
Connecticut |
17.81 |
||
|
|
Total US |
17.30 |
|
Total US |
21.75 |
|||||
|
26+ |
|
26+ |
|
26+ |
||||||
|
1 |
Alaska |
12.75 |
1 |
Alaska |
9.31 |
1 |
New Hampshire |
27.56 |
||
|
2 |
Vermont |
11.15 |
2 |
Maine |
7.77 |
2 |
Washington |
27.57 |
||
|
3 |
Colorado |
10.77 |
3 |
Vermont |
7.74 |
3 |
Vermont |
27.73 |
||
|
4 |
New Hampshire |
10.56 |
4 |
Colorado |
7.36 |
4 |
Massachusetts |
27.90 |
||
|
5 |
Oregon |
10.46 |
5 |
Oregon |
7.12 |
5 |
Oregon |
28.66 |
||
|
6 |
D. C. |
10.05 |
6 |
New Hampshire |
6.95 |
6 |
Colorado |
28.94 |
||
|
7 |
Maine |
9.87 |
7 |
Rhode Island |
6.87 |
7 |
Alaska |
29.76 |
||
|
8 |
Massachusetts |
9.79 |
8 |
Hawaii |
6.87 |
8 |
Maine |
29.87 |
||
|
9 |
Rhode Island |
9.36 |
9 |
D.C. |
6.15 |
9 |
Minnesota |
30.38 |
||
|
10 |
Washington |
9.13 |
10 |
Massachusetts |
5.80 |
10 |
Rhode Island |
31.20 |
||
|
15 |
Connecticut |
8.24 |
18 |
Connecticut |
4.68 |
15 |
Connecticut |
36.10 |
||
|
|
US TOTAL |
7.36 |
|
Total US |
4.40 |
|
Total US |
39.01 |
||