The Epidemic That (Thankfully) Wasn't

One of the most deeply depressing stories I handled as a newspaper editor was the inner-city crack epidemic in the late 1980s and predictions, which seemed chillingly possible at the time, that there would be a generation of severely damaged children who were birthed by addicted mothers.

That, reports The New York Times, now appears to be anything but the case because scientists say that so far the long-term effects of such exposure on children's brain development and behavior is relatively small.