Things are different down at the malt shop in small town lily white America. Seems some surly gents are turning kids on with mind altering Mary Jane aka marijuana. The iniquitous soul stealing substance popular among urban hep cat Negroes and sex crazed Mexicans is making its final push into the white suburban middle class targeting its children. Before our eyes we see kids as fine as a May morning degenerate into crazed lunatics with uncontrollable appetites for nostalgie de la boue. Reckless behavior follows and comic scenes of debauchery ensue as the kids get existential, craving faster music, driving recklessly and becoming overtly more lustful. It all comes to a head when sweet Mary finds herself compromised by a craven Bogarter and then murdered. Law and order ultimately sets things straight but not before a guilt ridden member of the dealers haunted by flashbacks jumps through a ten story window to her death. <br /><br />This cautionary tale of blatant lies and unintentional hilarity about demon weed is one of the first broad sides in the war on drugs. Amateurishly and clumsily patched together with sensationalistic blather and mad tokers it irresponsibly condemns what would turn out to be a medicinal panacea used by millions. <br /><br />Having extensively researched and observed the herb in use during my college years I found none of the deleterious effects dramatized in the film. On the contrary I found among colleagues a more subdued good natured mood fueling a penchant to consume vast quantities of carbohydrates (as well as a more restrained appreciation of sex and music). By ignoring this "munchies" factor Tell Your Children loses a golden opportunity to dramatize and publicize the greater threat that faces this country-obesity. But in its day these insipid ravings allowed then kinda drug czar Harry Anslinger to develop a cottage industry to employ jobless revenue agents who lost their meal ticket with the end of Prohibition. They needed a demon and found it in a benign plant that could avoid being regulated and taxed and was pervasive among second class (Blacks and Latinos) citizens who were already being institutionally abused of their rights. When it crept into white society films like Tell Your Children warned of the impending apocalypse. It must have worked because the disaster thus far has been averted. But as the stern narrator soberly warned we must remain vigilant. Pass the Hagen Daz.