Bill O'Reilly: Is America going to pot?
By: BillOReilly.com StaffJanuary 7, 2014
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By Bill O'Reilly

As you may know, I believe the increasing acceptance of marijuana among American young people is a bad thing for the country and now even some liberal media people are agreeing with me.

Tina Brown former editor of "Newsweek" tweeted, quote "Legal weed contributes to us being a fatter, dumber, sleepier nation even less able to compete with the Chinese," unquote.

That's true, the stats back it up. Let's take it step by step. If you use any intoxicating agent, your goal is to leave reality. You're not satisfied with your current state of mind, you want to get high, buzzed, blasted, whatever. Some adults can handle that on occasion, others cannot, so it's literally Russian roulette, but putting intoxicating agents in the hands of children can be devastating.

According to research by the Society for the Study of Addiction, teenagers using marijuana before the age of 18 are two to four times more likely to develop to psychosis compared to those who don't. One in six children who try pot will become addicted according to the National Institute of Health.

And the latest study by that organization says that nearly 23 percent of seniors in American high schools right now admit to smoking marijuana recently. That's an incredible stat.

So why is this all happening? One of the reasons is because the pot legalizers have made the drug glamorous and the media has played along. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus and others flaunt their association with marijuana. And very few speak out against it.

Now more bad news, combine the drug aspect with the Internet. According to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 75 percent of 12 to 17 year olds in the USA have cell phones and virtually all of them text. 33 percent of teenagers send more than 100 text messages a day and 66 percent of teens say their parents have imposed no rules regarding texting at all.

Here's a kicker, a study by the University of Winnipeg in Canada says students who text more than 100 times a day are 30 percent less likely to be ethical or principled in life. Are we getting all this? Young people in America are combining drugs, alcohol, and high-tech to build false lives to run away from reality.

In China, young people are encouraged to compete, be disciplined, to live in the real world. Not here. And again, there are very few voices speaking out against drug and tech abuse. This is an epidemic that will lead to a weaker nation. And anybody who tells you differently is lying to you.

And that's "The Memo."

- You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.

Transcript Date: 
Mon, 01/06/2014
Transcript Show Name: 
O'Reilly Factor
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