Living: When Parents Just Say No

Changing tactics in the battle against teenage drinking

An "untold American success story." That was what President Reagan called the latest figures on teenage drug use in his State of the Union address last month. He proudly cited an annual survey by the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research that showed a sharp drop in the number of teenagers who had used cocaine and other drugs in the past year. The President did not mention the untold American failure: despite tougher law enforcement, widespread publicity and sweeping educational campaigns, alcohol remains the drug of choice among today's high school students, and its popularity continues unabated.

The same Michigan...

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