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Substance Use in the 15 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 2002-2005

NCJ Number
217085
Date Published
January 2007
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report presents estimates of illicit drug use, binge alcohol use, and cigarette use in the 15 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), based on responses to the 2002-2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
Abstract
Among the 15 MSAs, the San Francisco (12.7 percent) and Detroit (9.5 percent) MSAs had rates of past-month illicit drug use that were significantly higher than the rate for the Nation as a whole (8.1 percent) over the period of the surveys. The Chicago MSA (25.7 percent) and the Houston MSA (25.6 percent) had higher rates of binge drinking than the national average (22.7 percent). Only the Detroit MSA had a rate of past-month cigarette use (27.4 percent) that was higher than the national average (25.3 percent). The NSDUH asks persons aged 12 and older to report on their illicit drug use, binge alcohol use, and cigarette use in the month prior to the interview. The illicit drugs mentioned in the survey are marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, and prescription-type drugs used nonmedically. Binge alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (at the same time or within a few hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days. 1 table and 3 figures