U.S. Finds Highest, Lowest Marijuana Use (Boulder, CO & Boston, MA at top of list!)

AP/SF Chronicle ^ | 6/16/05 | KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer

[TFFKAMM]

Both college towns, Boston and Boulder, Colo., share another distinction: They lead the nation in marijuana use. Northwestern Iowa and southern Texas have the lowest use. For the first time, the government looked at the use of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and various other substances, legal as well as illegal, by region rather than by state for a report Thursday.

Regions could be as specific as Riverside, Calif., or as broad as all of the state of New York (minus New York City). Federal officials say the information will help states decide where they should spend money for treatment and prevention programs.

For marijuana, 5.1 percent of people around the country reported using marijuana in the previous 30 days. In Boston, the home of Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern and several other colleges, 12.2 percent reported using marijuana in the previous 30 days.

In Boulder County, the home of the University of Colorado, 10.3 percent reported using marijuana during the same time period.

John Auerbach, executive director of the public health commission for the city of Boston, said the survey might not reflect current marijuana use in Boston because the data came from 1999-2001 national surveys.

"All that said, we're not surprised that substance abuse is a serious issue in the Boston area," Auerbach said. "The mayor and the health department have made the issue of substance abuse a top public health priority."

Auerbach also acknowledged that the data may reflect the city's significant 20-something population.

"College students in general have a more relaxed attitude about marijuana than other age groups. But in general, I don't think Boston has a markedly differently perspective on marijuana than other parts of the country."

[G32]

I've been through Boulder a lot of time. You can just TELL the pot use was incredible.

Very digusting and depressing place.. Burned out hippy HQ.. Well, outside of the liberaltarians. Frankly I'd think they'd all want to move there.

[kittymyrib]

If I were represented by Kerry and Kennedy, I'd stay stoned too.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Hard to believe NE Iowa was amongst the least pot consumers. When I was at U of Iowa, you could score between classes.

[Random Nonsense]

I've been to Boulder, Colorado meself several times, it's a different world, different mindset. Somehow it reminds me of Berkeley, California. Simply walk around Berkeley and you can smell pot everywhere.

[Guenevere]

Boulder is a beutiful little town....quaint shops & nice eateries...street performers....seasonal flowers....and the FlatIron mountains in the background.

Yes, there are pockets of drifters, loafers, and panhandlers....

..but it's not the cesspool you described.

[TFFKAMM]

I've been to both, and Boulder's a LOT cleaner and safer. And if you think these are stoner towns, you need to visit Santa Cruz, CA, home of the UCSC "Banana Slugs"!

[ken21]

boulder, tucson, austin, albuqueerque...anytime you see some college kid wearing a knitted hat in hot weather, you hafta wonder if he's stoned.

[LibertarianInExile]

When was the last time you were in Boulder?

The area near the campus is actually pretty nice, once you get past the students who smell like hippies and the professors who smell like hippies. I don't know about the rest of the town, but it generally seemed pretty liveable, even if it is a breeding ground for nanny-state politicans countrywide.

Now, you want a disgusting and depressing place, try Flint, MI. Mile after mile of boarded up, graffiti'ed row houses and shuttered factory buildings.

[hlmencken3]

Northwestern Iowa would be Sioux City, Spencer, etc., where marijuana is grown, widely used and easily avilable. The University of Okoboji is especially known for potheads ;-D

[Freebird Forever]

Northwestern Iowa and southern Texas have the lowest use.

But I'd be willing to bet that the volume of weed passing through South Texas ranks in the top two or three nationwide.

And I'm actually surprised that Madison WI wasn't mentioned at all. They've been decriminalized for close to three decades.

[TFFKAMM]

And how does a surfeit of bookstores make a town "disgusting and depressing"?

[DumpsterDiver]

The University of Okoboji is especially known for potheads ;-D

Shame on them! ;^)

For marijuana, 5.1 percent of people around the country reported using marijuana in the previous 30 days.

[TFFKAMM]

I think you'd get double-digit marijuana-use stats in pretty much any college town. Madison, Boulder, Berkeley, Austin, Ann Arbor -- all of 'em are stoner strongholds.

[sarasota]

Just gotta wonder how many kids actually told the truth about their weed use.

[Random Nonsense]

Also, Boulder is pretty much a pricey place, and I reckon they restrict new development, housing, etc.(I may be wrong, perhaps someone can check up on that) I am looking for a rural land up on the mountain, faraway from HOA, big cities, man-made noise, traffic. I was thinking about Maine, until I found out that it is not a tax friendly state. I am still looking for acres of land in New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Montana. A place that hasn't been californicated. A land with a small "Unabomber" cabin. :)

[TFFKAMM]

You should check out the area up in the mountains above Boulder, around Nederland. Lots of folks who've been priced out of the city live there.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Thank that 5% for helping perpetuate our border problem and the violence associated with it.

If you feel you have to do drugs be a patriot - buy American.

[dljordan]

"Somehow it reminds me of Berkeley, California. Simply walk around Berkeley and you can smell pot everywhere."

Lots of old Berkeley hippies wound up in Boulder and Ward Colorado. I guess that's where their buses broke down. Only the tough hippies live in Ward being that it is 8000' ft. and gets a mite chilly in the winter.