The Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has just released the results of their most recent survey on teen drug use which provides evidence to back up the thesis of Jacob Sullum’s book, Saying Yes, In Defense of Drug Use. In that volume the author argues that the negative effects of the currently illegal drugs are highly exaggerated.

The survey reveals that the percentage of teenagers who believe that there is considerable drug use in their High School rose from 44% in 2002 to 61% now. However, it also tells us that the percentage of teenagers who list drug use as their number one concern dropped from 32% in 1995 to 24% now. Therefore this research shows us that teens have a greater exposure to illegal drug use with a corresponding decreased fear of them. If use of these prohibited drugs was the soul destroying, death inducing, horrific experience that the government says it is then you would not get the kind of survey results you see above.