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Show Here are Questions and Answers r For Parents and Children , By Stanley F. Yolles, M.D. Director, National Institute of Mental Health Until recently, most parents par-ents of young people were not especially concerned with facts about drug abuse. The use and misuse of new and ancient mind - altering preparations pre-parations were largely matters mat-ters of medcal, pharmaceutical, pharmaceu-tical, and, "as regards control, con-trol, legal interest. Any compendium of advice on "what every parent should know" might comfortably comfort-ably have excluded the subject sub-ject of drugs. No longer is this so. Today, our pill-oriented society is alarmed and confused over the growing abuse of drugs among young people. Waves of shock follow in the wake of reports of campus-wide "pot" or marijuana. The word, "marijuana," has, like it or not, infiltrated the Nation's playgrounds. The problem is real, not just a hobgoblin one. Drugs, such as marijuana, the amphetamines am-phetamines , and barbituates, ILSD, -and the opiates (particularly (par-ticularly heroin) have become be-come familiar: pot, speed, bennies, gocf balls, junk, acid, and similar terms in the world of youth, whose innocence in-nocence frequently blurs tne distinction between being turn-ed-on and turned-off. As the principal Federal agency responsible for stimulating stim-ulating research on drug abuse, ab-use, the National Institute of Mental Health is vitally interested in-terested in strengthening our arsenal of knowledge and m helping to make the real facts about drugs, as known from scientific evidence rather ra-ther than rumor, available to the public. In reaching the public, every ev-ery member of which has a personal need to know about mind-affecting drugs and their proper and improper impro-per use, newspapers are a most important medium. In our current campaign to develop and carry out, as a cooperative program with evieryone interested, a nationwide na-tionwide drug abuse educational educa-tional program, the newspapers news-papers of America are playing play-ing a key role. ; Articles; such as this, and mamy other features, editorials, edit-orials, and, of course, the reporting of news developments develop-ments of all kinds are helping help-ing a great deal. Through such means, people peo-ple can learn,' for example, that the ' Institute has re-(fently re-(fently published a series of four factual easy-to - re.'d leaflets on drugs which are being made available to anyone who wants them. These leaflets attempt to answer some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the use of mari-juama, mari-juama, LSD, amphetamines, barbiturates, : and narcotics. Many . of . the questions about drugs that young people peo-ple may. bring up to their parents ' will be found ans- r wered in the series Being brief, the' - fcannot go deeply f : the points that may! ed by youngsters r' quenlly heard cone,.' alt use of alcohol. "Well, you drink ycu?" a child may ' : In the first of alcoholic beverj." : persons over 21 js ; ainst the law; LSD, and narcotic dm- ' illegal. ' ., Secondly, the 'm-. i use of alcohol - : use" of alcohol - . thing to recommend I a means of eseairr-. ies or as a way o(5r " Thirdly, the ace ' of moderate social j. assumes that adults ture enough to make decisions as to their ! ior. Finally, there is the , I able fact that young years of peR. growth and develops I dangerously inappropri;; any chemical means d founding reality. As authorities are aware, neither laWi f knowledge of the ) facts can themselves' about the prevention tf abuse. It is not so much ft tal phenomenon of ; use of drugs in Amen; day that bears investu; Rather it is the mistis abuse of drugs. The major harm a;: (greatest dangers through the improper '; of drugs, not their ? (utilization. It is toward undersfc-of undersfc-of drags, particularly imore powerful mink! inig compounds met: here, that we are cam ing. It is not to prove: appropriate, often viK age of drugs, but onh : abuse and misuse, Ilia! : (ileal, scientific, and ei tional efforts are afc |