Number One With A Silver Bullet

ND leads nation in binge, underage drinking:

A new report says North Dakota leads the nation in the rate of binge and underage drinking. It's old news to state officials who have been on a mission to change it, with limited success.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released Thursday by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, found 40 percent of North Dakotans ages 12 to 20 had at least one drink during the month before the survey was taken. The interviews were conducted in 2006 and 2007.

Researchers also found 32 percent of North Dakotans ages 12 and older said they had five or more drinks in one sitting during the month before the survey. The national average for binge drinking was 23 percent.

The results have changed little since 2005, when a similar survey found more than 31 percent of North Dakotans age 12 and older said they had five or more drinks in one sitting.

Drinking--even underage and to excess--is "culturally accepted" in North Dakota, authorities say, and many communities' social activities revolve around booze.

Binge drinking in North Dakota? Shocking. The only thing remotely surprising in this news is that the NoDakians managed to outbinge the oft-besotted Badgers.