Twelve years ago, health officials saw some bright spots in this gloomy picture. The latest surveys from the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed modest but real declines since 1979 in puffing marijuana and popping hallucinogens and PCP, or “angel dust.” The surveys also reveal a leveling off in cocaine use among the 18 to 25 age group.

In 1984, experts showed moderate optimism. Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal, director of New York City’s Phoenix House, one of the nation’s largest residential drug treatment programs said: “In our lifetime, you and I will probably see a significant decline in drug use. We will see high school kids dropping way back. We won’t be in as dangerous a place as we are now.”

It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Over the period from 1992 to 1996 there was marked increase in the use of marijuana among high school teenagers. Parents met this with grim anticipation. Politicians used the statistic to batter their opponents. Experts had few solutions.

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GENERAL HEALTH

1.    Make every effort to move away from the smoggy cities. Buy a cottage or a little farm outside of the city, and, if necessary, drive one or two hours to work. Then you can also grow most of your own poison-free foods. If you must live in a smoggy city, get out to smog-free air, at least a few weeks each year, to give your body, your liver and your lungs a chance to regenerate themselves and build a certain health reserve.

2.    Make every effort to eat only organically grown foods. Many health food stores now carry a good supply of them. Or transform your backyard into your own organic garden. Organic foods, or your own backyard vegetables will not be completely poison-free, but they will be better than the regular produce you buy at supermarkets.

3.    If you are an apartment dweller, get a green thumb by growing wheat grass in boxes on your balcony or kitchen window. Also, everyone can grow his own sprouts.

4.    If you must eat supermarket-bought produce, wash all your vegetables and fruits very carefully, with soap and warm water. Just rinsing with water would not do any good. Those fruits and vegetables that cannot be washed should be peeled.

Here’s one method recommended to remove residues of arsenic, DDT and other toxic sprays from vegetables and fruits: Mix 1 ounce of pure hydrochloric acid (sold in drugstores) with 3 quarts of water (use only glass or earthenware utensils). Place vegetables in solution for five minutes, then remove and rinse well with pure water. The solution can be saved and reused many times. Some claim that hydrochloric acid solution much weaker than this can be used.

5.    Stop using any and all toxic chemicals in your household: garden sprays, air fresheners, fly strips, cleaning fluids, detergents, bug killers, etc. Use soap as your only cleaning material, even for washing clothes. Avoid dry cleaning of your clothes. If dry cleaning is necessary, ventilate the clothes for several days after the cleaning.

6.    Optimum nutrition will help you to better withstand the polluted environment. The Airola Diet of optimum nutrition will assure you of the optimum nutrition and maximum protection against a toxic environment.

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GENERAL HEALTH