Underage drinking (ages 12 to 20), as reported by past-month behavior, 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).

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—and Texas and Utah had significant increases.

The report, “State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2004-2005 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health” 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. 

Binge Drinking

"Too many Americans are in denial about teen drinking," said John Walters, Director of the Office 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."

As if to demonstrate this point, in 2004-2005 almost a quarter (22.7 percent) of all persons 12 or older reported that they had participated in binge drinking during the past month. Binge drinking 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).

Illegal Drug Use

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.

Among teenagers, five states contributed significantly to a national decline in the percentage of  12- to 17-year-olds who used illicit drugs: 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).

Tobacco

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 the12- to 17- age group.

Mental Health

Two mental health measures for those 18 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.