How high? Not very in Tucson, according to report

So much for "Too Stoned," Ariz., Tucson's nickname during headiertimes.

A new federal report based on studies of drug and alcohol useshows Tucsonans, despite the tons of pot moving across the borderand through the area every week, aren't even in the top 10 U.S.metropolitan areas when it comes to smoking the outlaw weed.

This caused mild surprise among three sub-shop workers at ChebaHut, 1820 E. Sixth St., self-proclaimed "Home of the Blunts."

Told that Tucson didn't top the charts for the percentage ofpeople who admitted smoking pot in the previous 30 days, JoshKramer, 23, said, "I would have thought we would be higher thanthat."

Between 5 and 6 percent of Tucsonans questioned in federalstudies conducted between 1999 and 2001 admitted smoking pot withinthe previous 30 days. Nationally, the average rate was 5.1 percent.

"Kentucky," offered Jessica Hudson, 24, while making a sub. "It'sbackwoodsy," Hudson reasoned, with lots of places to grow thereviled and beloved plant.

Told the study found Boston had the most regular pot users, ErikAmonson, 24, said, "The Northeast does make sense. But, I'd havethought Northern California," a reference to the legendary marijuanacrops of Humboldt County.

Kramer assumed that Tucson would have a relatively highpercentage of pot smokers because of what he said is ease ofavailability and low price.

He suggested a reporter call a long-established local head shop -er, tobacco accessory dealer - to see what they had to say aboutTucsonans shunning marijuana.

But calls to three such shops evoked polite-to-panicked "nocomments": No sir, they most certainly did not have anything to sayabout drug use, and why would you ask?

"But don't you sell those fluorescent orange-and-green Plexiglastubes? Those bong things?" asked the reporter.

Well, yes, but those, the Arizona Daily Star was told, were fortobacco.

That, too, made sense to Kramer. Standing behind the counter, notfar from a poster of Bob Marley puffing on a fat cigarette-shapedobject, Kramer said the smoking-accessory shops have had to clam upabout anything to do with drugs since actor-comedian Tommy Chong wasarrested for selling bongs over the Internet.

The lowest pot-smoking rates were found in parts of Iowa andNorth Dakota.

While North Dakotans were not smoking pot, they were apparentlyusing the time to drink. The study showed 32 percent of residents ofnortheast and southeast regions of North Dakota reported having atleast five alcoholic beverages in one sitting at least once in thepast 30 days.

Where there's smoke ...

* The regions with the 10 highest rates of marijuana use byresidents 12 and over, according to a report by the Substance Abuseand Mental Health Services Administration:

*Boston, 12.16 (percent)

*Boulder, Colo., 10.3

*Southeast Mass., 9.53

*Portland, Ore., region, 9.48

*Champlain Valley, Vt., 9.37

*San Francisco region, 9.24

*Hawaii Island, 9.22

*Central Massachusetts, 9

*North-central California, 8.93

*Washington, R.I., 8.81

... and where there isn't

* The regions with the 10 lowest rates of marijuana use:

*Northwest Iowa, 2.28

*Northeast Iowa, 2.53

*North-central Texas, 2.59

*Central Iowa, 2.63

*Lake region and south-central North Dakota, 2.65

*Northern Nebraska, 2.65

*Southeast Oklahoma, 2.77

*East-central South Dakota, 2.78

*Badlands and west-central North Dakota, 2.81

*Central Nebraska, 2.88

* Contact reporter Dan Sorenson at 434-4073 ordsorenson@azstarnet.com.