Marsha Rosenbaum

About the author: Marsha Rosenbaum is a medical sociologist who has written numerous books, scholarly articles, and editorials about drug use, drug treatment, and drug policy. This viewpoint is exerpted from her booklet Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and Drug Education.

Many teenagers experiment with marijuana in high school, and the vast majority of them suffer no ill effects. Young people today are bombarded with messages that encourage the use of numerous symptom-reducing or mind-altering substances, including over-thecounter and prescription drugs, so teen experimentation with illegal drugs should not be seen as deviant. While parents and teachers should work to prevent serious drug abuse among teens, they should avoid educational programs that rely on scare tactics and misinformation about the effects of marijuana. Because teenagers...