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From: [lamon t g] at [cs.washington.edu] (Lamont Granquist)
Subject: Re: HAHAHAHA RIVER PHOENIX IS DEAD!!!!
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 93 23:23:17 GMT

[cb 0534 f 93] at [auvax1.adelphi.edu] writes:
>There is no excuse for drug use.

There is no need for an excuse, drug use is simply a reality.

(emphasis in the following is mine...)

Author:         Shedler-J.  Block-J.
Author Affil.:  University of California, Berkeley.
Title:          Adolescent drug use and psychological health. A longitudinal
                inquiry.
Source:         Am-Psychol.  1990 May.  45(5).  P 612-30.
Abstract:       The relation between psychological characteristics and drug
                use was investigated in subjects studied longitudinally, from
                preschool through age 18.  ADOLESCENTS WHO HAD ENGAGED IN
                SOME DRUG EXPERIMENTATION (PRIMARILY WITH MARIJUANA) WERE THE
                BEST-ADJUSTED IN THE SAMPLE.  Adolescents who used drugs
                frequently were maladjusted, showing a distinct personality
                syndrome marked by interpersonal alienation, poor impulse
                control, and manifest emotional distress.  ADOLESCENTS WHO,
		BY AGE 18, HAD NEVER EXPERIMENTED WITH ANY DRUG WERE
		RELATIVELY ANXIOUS, EMOTIONALLY CONSTRICTED, AND LACKING IN
		SOCIAL SKILLS.  Psychological differences between frequent
                drug users, experimenters, and abstainers could be traced to
                the earliest years of childhood and related to the quality of
                parenting received.  The findings indicate that (a) problem
                drug use is a symptom, not a cause, of personal and social
                maladjustment, and (b) the meaning of drug use can be
                understood only in the context of an individual's personality
                structure and developmental history.  It is suggested that
                current efforts at drug prevention are misguided to the
                extent that they focus on symptoms, rather than on the
                psychological syndrome underlying drug abuse.

Note to those who interpret this as claiming that drug use causes people
to be better adjusted.  READ IT AGAIN.  Correlation does not imply
causality and you've got it ass-backwards.