Lazy Young People Prefer Legal Drugs
The youth of today have it so easy! When they want to get messed up on drugs, they don't have to scrape together money, locate a dubious character to deal to them, and risk getting arrested: They simply go to their parents' medicine cabinet. Painkillers, tranquilizers and stimulants are frequently the drugs of choice for 12 to 25-year-olds, according to the federal government's National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
"You don't have to go to the drug dealer, or even leave the house," says Peter, who spoke on condition that his last name not be used. "You can just go upstairs to Mom's medicine chest and boom! You're locked and loaded. . . . People feel like, 'Wow, how bad could it be? It came from our doctor.' "
However, take away the (character building!) elements of crime and unpleasant side effects, and they're more likely to become addicts than the baby boomers who grew up on street drugs, many of whom, says the report, still indulge in cocaine and marijuana—probably much to the embarrassment of their pill-popping kids.
