by Phyllis Schlafly

About the author: Phyllis Schlafly is the founder of the political action group Eagle Forum and the publisher of the monthly Phyllis Schlafly Report.

The alarming rise in illegal drug use by teenagers is big news. Although drug use by adults has leveled off and is actually down since 1985, drug use (mostly in marijuana) among teens aged 12 to 17 is increasing every year, doubling since 1992 to eleven percent in 1995.

Marijuana damages the memory, energy and general learning power of children. Children who start out on marijuana are 17 times more likely to progress to hard drugs than if they had never used marijuana.

A Scary Drug Problem

The drug experts call this “very scary.” Their explanations include neglect by parents, the misleading messages from political leaders, the glamorization of drugs by the entertainment industry, the...