June 18, 2005
Wisconsin is completely sloshed
Here's a map of binge alcohol use in the past 12 months. You'd expect the Dakotas to be pretty hammered given their high percentage of Native Americans (alcohol continues to plague their populations at disasterous rates), but Wisconsin?
If you scroll down a bit, you can see that tobacco use is definitely highest in the South, particularly Kentucky (which though not technically part of the Confederacy, is certainly part of the culture of the South, right down to the poverty). So, to all of those who read this site who are smokers - and there are plenty of you - kick the redneck habit and join the civilized segment of society.
Interestingly enough, the Southwest is the highest in cocaine usage, with Colorado being off the charts, along with... Delaware? DC I can see, but Delaware?
Another counterintuitive bit of data is that the South is lowest in terms of alcohol consumption. The highest uses are in areas with Indian reservations, and then New England. Which goes a long way to explain why Kerry lost the last election: his home base was plastered.
I saw a TV special (20/20, I think) once while I was still living in Delaware about how North Wilmington was supposed to be the cocaine capital of the East Coast. According to Barbara Walters (an eminently reliable source), it's actually upper middle-class housewives who are addicted to the stuff. North Wilmington is only a short drive away from the Badlands of South Philadelphia, where it's easier to get cocaine than a decent cheese steak.
Posted by: iserman at June 18, 2005 10:22 AMTo go along with the Kerry losing idea, New England also has a "high" rate of marijuana use in the last month. I find it a little surprising being from Mass, which has a strong showing at 8-12%. Interesting.
Posted by: ARoss at June 20, 2005 05:29 PM