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The Daily Signal
Nancy Reagan’s
‘Just Say No’ Campaign Helped Halve Number of Teens on Drugs
Brian Blake
March 11, 2016
When the Reagans moved into the White House on Jan. 20, 1981, drug use,
particularly among teenagers, was hovering near the highest rates ever
measured. Of that year’s graduating class, 65 percent had used drugs in
their lifetimes, and a remarkable 37 percent were regular drug users.
After the upheaval of the 1970s, Americans had chosen in Reagan a
strong, optimistic leader to guide them to a more hopeful future. But
there could be little real hope while one of the ’70s’ more damaging
legacies—astronomic drug use—was consuming the rising generation.
Fortunately for that generation of young people, Ronald and Nancy
Reagan were stronger than the threat.
Eight years later, when the Reagans left Washington, only 19.7 percent
of 1989’s graduating class were regular drug users, a 47-percent
reduction.
Eight years later, when the Reagans left Washington, only 19.7 percent
of 1989’s graduating class were regular drug users, a 47-percent
reduction. And the trend that began under their leadership persisted
until it reached an all-time low of 14.4 percent in 1992, 61 percent
lower than 1981.
While it is simplistic to credit Nancy Reagan alone with this downturn,
it is impossible to ignore her leadership and the massive shift she led
against the drug culture. Her off-the-cuff response to a young Oakland
girl who asked her what to do if confronted with drugs became a clarion
call: “Just say no.”
This clear, unequivocal stand against drugs galvanized the nation by
placing a moral stake in the ground: Illicit drug use is wrong,
harmful, and not compatible with a free society. It provided an example
parents, teachers, community leaders, and especially young people could
follow when confronting drugs.
Nancy Reagan succeeded in changing the culture. By the spring of 1989,
illegal drugs were Americans’ number-one concern. Reagan’s call “to be
unyielding and inflexible in your opposition to drugs” was even taken
up by Hollywood. The dangers of drugs became a common theme on
television programs, particularly those with family audiences, spurring
discussions between parent and child.
In the days since Nancy Reagan’s passing, those who seek to normalize
drug use have been working to obfuscate the clear evidence of success
of the Reagan-era anti-drug efforts. “Just say no” was futile, they
claim, ignoring the clear downturns in drug use that occurred when
Americans united against drugs. For those who think drug use should be
accepted and even encouraged, the clear and simple truth must be
suppressed. The reality of drug use that every family member of an
addict knows must be ignored.
But Nancy Reagan achieved her goal. She sought to change the nation’s
ambivalence about drugs, and attitudes clearly changed.
Since 1975, the Monitoring the Future study has tracked both teen drug
usage rates and how teen attitudes about drugs have changed over time.
Understanding attitudes is critical to drug prevention, because it is a
foundation of behavior change, for good and ill.
It is exceedingly difficult to look at the major changes in youth
attitudes toward drugs, as measured through “perceived harmfulness,”
and not see the fruits of the cultural shift Nancy Reagan led. To take
one example, in 1980, only 50 percent of high school seniors thought
using marijuana “regularly” was harmful. By 1988, it was 77 percent,
where it remained until 1993 (not coincidentally, during the Clinton
administration, when drug use started creeping up again).
This leads us to where we are today. Not surprisingly, after eight
years of an administration that downplays the dangers of drugs, refuses
to enforce federal drug laws, and tacitly endorses drug legalization
“experiments” in a few states, America’s young people see drugs in a
much more positive light.
Only 32 percent now perceive using marijuana “regularly” as harmful, a
number even lower than the drug-soaked 1970s. As would be expected,
teen usage rates have begun to increase, as shown in The Heritage
Foundation’s Index of Culture and Opportunity, with marijuana leading
the way. This is happening at the same time that “commercialized”
marijuana is breaking records for potency, and scientists are sounding
the alarm about marijuana’s link to permanent neurological damage. Most
concerning, heroin overdose deaths have increased a catastrophic 440
percent in the past eight years—and heroin use still, all too often,
begins with marijuana use.
The “Just Say No” generation to whom Nancy Reagan dedicated herself can
rightfully look back with gratitude for the protection she marshaled on
their behalf.
In a 1987 letter to the actor Paul Newman, President Reagan extolled
the first lady’s work on drugs: “I believe [Nancy] has done more and
continues doing more than any other single individual, particularly
with regard to young people to whom she is totally dedicated.” Her
efforts resulted in millions of young people avoiding the lost
opportunity, addiction, and even death that comes with drug use.
In the face of today’s rising drug use and the accompanying increases
in addiction and overdose deaths, political leaders and our cultural
elites should revisit Nancy Reagan’s anti-drug legacy, for it offers a
clear example of how powerful moral leadership can alter the fortunes
of a generation. We would best remember her by following her example,
right now.
Read this and other articles at The Daily Signal
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