[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E267-E268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

THE WAR ON DRUGS: RENEWING THE BATTLE

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HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

of new york

in the house of representatives

Friday, February 3, 1995
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, during the 1980's, the message to Americans
was ``Just Say No to Drugs and Alcohol.'' Children were admonished by
their sports and entertainment heros to stay away from marijuana and
cocaine. Statistics show that the message was working, at least as far
as adolescent drug use was concerned. But during the Clinton
administration, the war on drugs has been downsized and their
supporters in the drug culture are claiming it can't be won. As the
following article emphasizes, teenagers are showing a renewed interest
in illegal drugs. Without the constant reminders to avoid these mind-
numbing and brain killing substances, kids have begun testing the
waters. The only way to safeguard the future of America is to stop this
experimentation before the sharks take over again.
The article follows:

[From the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 18, 1995]

(By Gerald F. Seib)

Drug Comeback: One Sad Trend Lost in Shuffle

The new Congress isn't exactly short of things to do, but
here's one task crying out for attention: putting a stop to
the backsliding underway in the national war against drugs.
Subtly, almost imperceptibly, drug use is creeping back up
among America's youth. Worse yet, all the warning signs of
bigger problems ahead are flashing. Use of marijuana, often a
precursor of cocaine use, is up sharply among teens.
Simultaneously, young people's perception that drugs are
risky is declining, an attitude change that usually forecasts
an actual upturn in drug use.
At least one powerful voice is trying to persuade the new,
Republican-controlled Congress to fix its eyes on this
troubling picture. The voice belongs to William Bennett, the
former drug czar, who has been pressing new GOP members to
get drugs onto at least their second 100 days' agenda. His
message, Mr. Bennett says, is simply this: ``You cannot
ignore it.''
In truth, though, ignoring the problem is what a lot of
people, in Congress and out, have been doing. Consequently,
the country is in a position roughly akin to that of a drug
abuser who may appear to be recovering but who actually is in
grave danger of a relapse.
Over the last few years, it was possible to conclude that,
outside of the inner cities,
[[Page E268]] broader American society had finally turned the
tide in its long battle against illegal drugs. Studies by the
University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, for
instance, showed that drug use among high school seniors
declined gradually but steadily through the second half of
the 1980s and into the 1990s. Not coincidentally, perceptions
that regular drug use was risky rose through the same period.
Now, those comforting trendlines have turned. The
University of Michigan research shows that illicit drug use
has been rising, slowly but clearly, among eighth and 10th
graders and high school seniors in each of the last two
years. Particularly alarming was the rise found in the use of
marijuana. Over the past two to three years, the share of
students reporting use of marijuana at least once in the past
year has doubled among eighth graders, grown by two-thirds
among 10th graders, and jumped by 40% among high school
seniors.
The rise in marijuana use is particularly troubling,
because historical trends show that marijuana is a
``gateway'' drug often leading to other drugs. Recent studies
by Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse, or CASA, document a link between marijuana, as well as
alcohol and tobacco, and later cocaine use. To put a grim
human face on the latest statistics, CASA estimates that the
jump in youthful marijuana use means 820,000 more young
Americans will try cocaine in their lifetime, and that 58,000
of them will become regular cocaine users as adults.
Why is this happening? The best guess is the broadest one.
The country is letting down its collective guard.
For starters, society generally has stopped pounding home
the theme that drugs are dangerous, meaning that a whole new
set of young Americans isn't getting the same kind of clear
signal their older brothers and sisters did. ``The message is
getting mixed,'' frets Joseph Califano, the former health,
education and welfare secretary and CASA's chairman. ``It's
everything from the fact that we're starting to see pot come
back to the movies and the music business, which are
incredibly important to young people, to the fact that
Joycelyn Elders is sending out an ambiguous message.''
Surgeon General Elders has just departed, of course, so now
it's up to President Clinton and his administration to undo
any damage her casual remarks about possible drug
legalization may have done. But the problem is hardly
confined to the Clinton administration. Congress is equally
complicit in toning down the anti-drug message.
In the budget he presented for the current fiscal year, Mr.
Clinton proposed spending $659.2 million on a program to help
ensure safe and drug-free schools. Congress last year chopped
that request down by 27%, to $482 million.
Now comes the new Republican Congress, which will be torn
between its budget-cutting impulses and the painful fact that
programs to interdict drugs and prevent their use cost money.
This is one area where anti-crime bromides alone won't
suffice. Some in the drug-fighting community are particularly
worried that, as spending on federal social programs gets
packed into block grants and shipped out to the states, drug-
fighting will get pushed to the back of the line of competing
claims.
For his part, Mr. Bennett suggests that existing federal
and state law-enforcement money could be used for a
``targeted, intense effort at closing down drug markets in
the cities.'' The first battle, though, isn't against drug
dealers. It's against creeping national complacency.
For starters, society generally has stopped pounding home
the theme that drugs are dangerous, meaning that a whole new
set of young Americans isn't getting the same kind of clear
signal their older brothers and sisters did. ``The message is
getting mixed, ``frets Joseph Califano, the former health,
education and welfare secretary and CASA's chairman. ``It's
everything from the fact that we're starting to see pot come
back to the movies and the music business, which are
incredibly important to young people, to the fact that
Jocelyn Elders is sending out an ambiguous message.''
Surgeon General Elders has just departed, of course, so now
it's up to President Clinton and his administration to undo
any damage her casual remarks about possible drug
legalization may have done. But the problem is hardly
confined to the Clinton administration. Congress is equally
complicit in toning down the anti-drug message.
In the budget he presented for the current fiscal year, Mr.
Clinton proposed spending $659.2 million on a program to help
ensure safe and drug-free schools. Congress last year chopped
that request down by 27%, to $482 million.
Now comes the new Republican Congress, which will be torn
between its budget-cutting impulses and the painful fact that
programs to interdict drugs and prevent their use cost money.
This is one area where anti-crime bromides alone won't
suffice. Some in the drug-fighting community are particularly
worried that, as spending on federal social programs gets
packed into block grants and shipped out to the states, drug-
fighting will get pushed to the back of the line of competing
claims.
For his part, Mr. Bennett suggests that existing federal
and state law-enforcement money could be used for a
``targeted, intense effort at closing down drug markets in
the cities.'' The first battle, though, isn't against drug
dealers. It's against creeping national complacency<divide>.

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