Strategies for reducing drug abuse in America -- Opposing viewpoints on drug abuse -- Viewpoint 1. The war on drugs reduces drug abuse / Jonathan Last -- Viewpoint 2. The war on drugs does not reduce drug abuse / Anthony Gregory -- Viewpoint 3. Peer pressure causes drug abuse / Jamie Gadette -- Viewpoint 4. Marijuana causes health problems / National Institute on Drug Abuse -- Viewpoint 5. Marijuana does not cause health problems / Paul Armentano -- Model essays and writing exercises -- Preface A: The five-paragraph essay -- Preface B: The cause-and-effect essay -- Essay one: Discovering the causes of teenage drug abuse -- Exercise 1a: Create an outline from an existing essay -- Essay two: The consequences of drug abuse -- Exercise 2a: Create an outline from an existing essay -- Exercise 2b: Create an outline for your own essay -- Essay three: Marijuana is a gateway drug -- Exercise 3a: Examining introductions and conclusions -- Exercise 3B: Using quotations to enliven your essay -- Final writing challenge: write your own cause-and-effect five-paragraph essay -- Supporting research material -- Appendix A: Facts about drug abuse -- Appendix B: Finding and using sources of information -- Appendix C: Using MLA to create a works cited list -- Appendix D: Sample essay topics -- Organizations to contact -- Bibliography -- Index -- Picture credits -- About the editor.