e and its consequences in America. While America’s illegal drug problem is serious, it does not approach the emergency situation of the late 1970s or the cocaine epidemic in the 1980s. Just 6 percent of our household population age twelve and over was using drugs in 1995, down from 14.1 percent in 1979. Fewer than 1 percent were using cocaine, inhalants, or hallucinogens. The most- commonly-used illegal drug was marijuana, taken by 77 percent of drug users.60 As drug use became less prevalent through the 1980s, national attention to the drug problem decreased. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America suggests that an indicator or that decreased attention was the reduced frequency of anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs) on TV, radio, and in print media. Our children also dropped their guard as drugs became less prevalent and first-hand knowledge of dangerous substances became scarce. Consequently, disapproval of drugs and the perception of risk on the part of young people has declined throughout this decade. As a result, since 1992 more youth have been using alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. A disturbing study prepared by CASA suggests that adults have become resigned to teen drug use. In fact, nearly half the parents from the "baby-boomer" generation expect their teenagers to try illegal drugs.61 Forty percent believe they have little influence over teenagers’ decisions about whether to smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. Both of these assumptions are incorrect. Parents have enormous influence over the decisions young people make. We Must Act Now to Prevent a Future Drug Epidemic The United States has failed to forestall resurgent drug use among children in the ‘90s. This problem did not develop recently. The 1993 Interim National Drug Control Strategy highlighted the problem of rising drug use among American youth, quoting the 1992 Monitoring The Future study which found that eighth graders and college stud...
