ASSASSIN OF YOUTH

foreign [Music] this is a modern city noisy confusing and complex a place of friendship or loneliness dreams or nightmares where the problems of society bring out the best or the worst of its citizens and the problems are many they are part of your own town your own neighborhood poverty crime violence frustration broken and half-lived lives where the weak and the Frantic are quick to seek relief and escape and they seek it in many ways one way of Escape is by the use of narcotic and dangerous drugs morphine heroin barbiturates amphetamine and marijuana [Music] narcotic use provides a temporary relief from a vacant or troubled life offers first a cheap thrill later a blinding hole which cannot be broken by the victim the illegal purchase is easily made and what begins as an almost innocent Adventure may be the first step of a Journey Into Darkness and the Common Road to drug addiction starts with marijuana [Music] Prelude to the more deadly drugs morphine and heroin [Music] let us examine marijuana this drug is obtained from the innocent looking plant cannabis indica or Cannabis sativa an herb of the thistle family cannabis has a commercial value the stalks and Stems are used in the manufacture of rope hemp cloth and Twine mats and paper the seed is valuable to the paint industry by producing an oil with a fast drying property cannabis has also been used in medicine to relieve pain encourage sleep and soothe restlessness in recent years however it has been supplanted by other less dangerous drugs the flowering top of the female plant produces a gum which contains the active constituent cannabin the alkaloid of the drug this substance has an intoxicating and stimulating effect on the human body the marijuana habit has claimed its victims in Asia and the near East for a thousand years known as hashish it is often taken as a beverage or eaten as candy since 1934 marijuana has become a growing Menace in the United States where it is mostly consumed by smoking the average marijuana cigarette contains a dangerous amount of the drug like most other narcotic drugs this one too has distinct immediate and chronic effects exhilaration laughter bloodshot eyes and a peculiar odor from the breath are the usual symptoms of initial intoxication there can be delirium hallucinations and a loss of the sense of time and space inhibitions are released and often the marijuana user is involved in crime and immorality each day drug addiction makes new conquests in more wasted lives and many of the victims are young people who Begin by the use of marijuana the first link in a chain of misery and when the user becomes a heroin or morphine addict the misery is multiplied you must obtain a daily supply of constantly increasing doses narcotic addiction costs money much more than the average person can earn so the addict resorts to desperate dangerous ways theft robbery and even murder [Applause] [Music] the drug addict sacrifices his whole life for his narcotic he sacrifices his family and friends his own body his health in his desperate attempt to maintain supply of drugs the addict rarely has sufficient food or clothing the terrible conditions under which his compulsion forces him to live tend to slowly destroy him Federal authorities relate that addicts die of tuberculosis at the rate of four to one compared to non-addicts more than two to one of pneumonia more than five to one of premature old age three to one of brain hemorrhage three to one of cancer and other malignant tumors and more than two to one of a wide variety of other diseases continued excessive use of many drugs can create circumstances resulting in irreversible brain damage many drug addicts have ended their tortured lives permanently insane [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] this is Judy Judy just attended that very special party how do you feel Judy scared unhappy a little late for regrets but how did it happen the trouble began when your parents left on that trip they didn't want to leave you alone yet it seemed better than having you miss school they give you all kinds of advice remember their words be careful be a good girl of course you do but mothers and fathers are always saying things like that besides you had no intention of doing anything wrong still you were sorry to see them go perhaps a little worried you soon put it out of your mind and that very afternoon you were off to a show you've already forgotten the picture but do you remember that good-looking young man will be a long time before you nice girls don't allow fellows to pick them up and you've always tried to do the right thing but what could you do he followed you in and after the show he followed you out [Music] fresh wasn't it oh come on what are you afraid of later while he seemed very nice you were calling him Joe and it was almost as though you had known one another for a long time naturally you had a date [Music] here have a cigarette no Joe [Music] come learn to live questions [Music] take just one puff and see if you like it [Music] come on you're not scared come on try it try it now [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you did well that night Judy you used your head but you were frightened and alone and despite everything you liked Joe didn't you feel good when the phone rang the next day I thought I'd never hear from you again you glad I called oh yes Joe I'm so sorry about last night you mean you're sorry you didn't torture don't worry baby I got a stack of fine wanna blow tea with me tonight don't talk like that Joe not over the telephone I'm in a phone booth they get donated seven okay I really don't think I should go out with you anymore what's the matter don't you want to see me anymore you'll be home at seven see you later Sunday morning that's your church Judy you weren't there some people missed you wondered where you were yes you were home feeling guilty ashamed and yet even more lonely now you felt so low nothing seemed to help if only you could snap out of it Escape these feelings there was one way call Joe the rest is just a bad dream but one with permanent effects you have a record now Judy everybody knows about you that's bad enough but it could have been worse it could have gone on from Joe and his reefers to perhaps someone else and heroin or morphine this is what it could have been like Judy this girl has just started to show withdrawal symptoms from addiction to heroin started with marijuana too had no intention of going any further but they do go further before she realized that the continual acceptance of the marijuana had deadened her willpower weakened her resistance until sticking a needle into her body taking heroin no longer seemed a dangerous desperate act that it is this girl hours further along the stages of withdrawal suffers in a way that few young people can even imagine she too a few months ago thought she could take it or leave it alone but she couldn't no one can the tragedy is thousands of young people are being caught in this vicious trap regularly how would you like to be this one Julia this is her third day of it you don't need to ask how it feels she's telling you oh come on Judy we have more to see you how would you like to face her future she might as well be dead probably would rather be this is what your future could have been Judy how do you like it her life ruined her friends all gone her looks gone her health wrecked is it worth it Judy this is Judy's Story in some ways unusual in some ways very ordinary there are many more like it what can we the people of America do about such cases the narcotic Educational Foundation provides an answer the foundation fights the narcotic problem on all fronts a speaker's Bureau supplies trained lecturers for use in schools churches and Civic gatherings a radio and television Department prepares special material the foundation's department of research has brought together books facts pamphlets and other recorded materials to form a valuable lending library full information on all narcotic laws is available and facts are prepared and presented to our legislators AIDS are created for law enforcement an educational Department arranges displays in schools promotes discussion groups and Essay contests and encourages healthy Recreation pamphlets books displays and posters are available to all Civic organizations a united front against drug addiction crime and juvenile delinquency is conducted by the foundation in the school in the church and in the home but all this is still not enough the narcotic Menace continues the National Crime rate is still Rising every 15 seconds a serious crime is committed in the United States a murder every hour a forcible rape every half hour a robbery every six minutes an assault every four minutes a burglary every 39 seconds crime continues to outstrip the population growth by over four to one and the arrests of juveniles has more than doubled in the last 10 years every year over four hundred thousand young persons aged 17 and under are arrested and fingerprinted it cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars a year to support its prison population the narcotic Educational Foundation needs the help of your community your Educators and your church religious and moral training is necessary to Aid in the fight against narcotics protect your children accept your responsibility in this campaign do your part to stamp out this vicious threat to the Youth of America can we count on your health remember it is up to you [Music]