The anti-anxiety drug Xanax may be the new threat to students who get high on Colorado campuses. Bennett Bertoli, the 20-year-old CSU student who died over the weekend, had been drinking. His blood alcohol was .124, which while considered too impaired to legally drive, is not considered enough to kill. Friends of Bertoli say he bragged about having taken Xanax. Not just one or two, but 100 in the past week. Chopping and snorting the pills have become popular on campuses.

A lot of times when you do Xanax, you black out when you’re still awake, and you can black out for up to 18, 24 hours. I’ve seen kids have no memory,” the partygoer said. He said alcohol just intensifies a person’s high on Xanax.

This is the generation that grew up with “Just Say No” and programs like D.A.R.E. at school. Maybe the consequences of exaggerating the dangers of drugs and lumping them all together is coming home to roost. Adults seem to have lost all credibility when it comes to advising kids about drugs and alchohol. The War Against Drugs is not working. “Just say No” deteoriated into a punchline. No parent today is laughing.