AGENCIES FEAR RISE IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: JOEL STASHENKO Associated Press

ALBANY -- The state will use an annual conference of alcoholism and drug-treatment providers to gauge whether substance abuse has increased in New York due to the stresses and uncertainties of the post-Sept. 11 world.

It is clear that the terrorist attacks and, more recently, the threat of anthrax have put an ``enormous stress'' on New Yorkers and other Americans, according to Jean Somers Miller, commissioner of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

It also is clear that in times of unusual …