News Release - New SAMHSA Report Provides State-Level View of Substance Use and Mental Health 
Date: 2/28/2007
Media Contact: SAMHSA Press Office
Telephone: 240-276-2130
New SAMHSA Report Provides State-Level View of Substance Use and Mental Health
Past month underage drinking (age 12 to 20) was lowest in Utah (21.3 percent) and highest in Wisconsin (39.5 percent) in 2004-2005, says the newest state-by-state report on substance use and mental health from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2004-2005 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides state-level rates for 23 measures of substance use and mental health problems, including underage drinking, binge drinking, use of illegal drugs, serious mental illness and tobacco use. The SAMHSA report combined two years of data (2004-2005) from the annual NSDUH surveys to enhance the precision of estimates for less populous states. States were also divided into groups of ten (quintiles) and estimates were provided according to four age groups: all persons 12 years or older and three subgroups—12 to 17, 18 to 25, and 26 or older.
The new report also indicates that while there was no significant change at the national level for past month underage drinking between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, six states had significant decreases: Hawaii, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Washington. Texas and Utah had significant increases for this same time period.
“We see some encouraging state-level improvements in this report, particularly with illicit drugs and tobacco,” said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. “But a continuing pattern of underage drinking and binge drinking indicates that many people still do not understand that alcohol can also be a dangerous drug when used in large amounts or by those who are underage.”
"Too many Americans are in denial about teen drinking," said John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "We need to stop looking the other way and pretending that it's just a rite of passage. Let's face facts: When teens drink, they drink to get drunk."
The new data analysis shows that in 2004-2005, Utah had the lowest rate of past month alcohol use (30.1 percent) among those 12 years and older, and Wisconsin had the highest (65.3 percent). The highest rate of past month alcohol use in the U.S. occurred in the 18 to 25 age group in Wisconsin (75.7 percent). Connecticut, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wisconsin all ranked in the highest quintile for current alcohol use among the four population age groups.
In 2004-2005 on the national level, almost a quarter (22.7 percent) of all persons age 12 or older participated in past month binge drinking, which is defined as having five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least one day in the 30 days prior to the survey. Utah had the lowest rate of past month binge drinking (16.3 percent) during that time and North Dakota had the highest rate (31.5 percent). Five states ranked in the top fifth in all three age subgroups and among persons 12 or older: Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The lowest rate of past month underage binge drinking for those age 12 to 20 occurred in Tennessee (14.3 percent). The highest levels occurred in North Dakota (29.5 percent). Eight of the states that ranked in the highest quintile for past month underage use of alcohol also ranked in the highest quintile for past month underage binge use of alcohol: Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Use of illegal drugs in the past month for all persons age 12 or older ranged from a low of 5.9 percent in Iowa to a high of 12.2 percent in Alaska. Colorado, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont were in the highest quintile for persons 12 or older and for all age subgroups.
Five states contributed significantly to a national decline between 2003 and 2005 in the percentage of those 12 to 17 years old who used illicit drugs in the past month: California (from 12.1 to 10.6 percent), Michigan (from 12.3 to 10.6 percent), New Mexico (from 16.2 to 13.0 percent), North Dakota (from 10.8 to 8.5 percent) and Washington (from 11.7 to 9.6 percent).
The lowest rate of nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers in the past year by those 12 years and older occurred in South Dakota (3.4 percent) and the highest rate was recorded in Utah (6.5 percent). The pain relievers listed in the survey included drugs such as Darvocet, Percocet, Percodan, Vicodin, codeine, Demerol, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine, and Oxycontin.
North Dakota had the lowest rate (1.7 percent) of past year cocaine use for those 12 years and older, and Washington, DC had the highest (3.4 percent).
North Dakota and South Dakota had the lowest level (2.8 percent) of past month use of illicit drugs other than marijuana among those 12 years and older, and Colorado had the highest level (4.5 percent). Illicit drugs other than marijuana included cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used nonmedically.
Five states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and West Virginia—shared the lowest annual rate of using marijuana for the first time: 1.4 percent. The lowest rate (4.2 percent) of marijuana use in the past month among those 12 years and older was found in Iowa. Alaska had the highest rate for first-time use of marijuana (2.6 percent) and past-month use of marijuana (10.1 percent).
The national percentage of past month tobacco use by persons age 12 or older was stationary between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, but the prevalence of use among youths age 12 to 17 declined slightly from 14.4 percent to 13.8 percent during the same period. Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, and North Dakota showed declines in the 12 to 17 age group.
Two mental health measures for those 18 years and older—serious psychological distress and major depressive episodes—also appear in this new report. Hawaii had the lowest rate of serious psychological distress (9.8 percent) and major depressive episodes (6.7 percent) in the past year. West Virginia had the highest rate (15.3 percent) of past year serious psychological distress and Utah had the highest rate (10.1 percent) of past year major depressive episodes.
This report marks the first time that comparable state estimates have been available for three consecutive time periods (2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005). A Web-only supplement to this report will compare these time periods for all measures that were common to those sets of years and will be available later in March 2007.
State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2004-2005 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is available on the Web at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k5state/toc.cfm . Copies may be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA 07-4235. For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/
