[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 DRUGS AND THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, it was recently brought to my attention 
that drug legalization advocates are using the electronic information 
superhighway to organize the legalization movement and share 
information on drug use. The information superhighway was certainly not 
created to propagate such misinformation and the criminal activity 
associated with it.
  This use was brought to my attention by drug legalization opponents 
who use the information superhighway everyday in their vocations. 
Apparently, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws 
recently entered remarks which I personally made in opposition to drug 
legalization on this House floor as an example of ``rabid, right-wing 
prohibitionist propaganda.'' Because I believe, along with 95 percent 
of America, that the use of illicit drugs is wrong, I was singled out 
as an enemy of drug users. Well, Mr. Speaker, I am honored. The use of 
illegal drugs in an anathema to the social and moral fabric of our 
Nation. President Reagan's and President Bush's ``War on Drugs'' was 
premised on the belief that society was better served and protected if 
our Nation universally and actively opposed drug use. This program 
worked as planned. The use of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and most 
other illegal drugs declined. Our Nation's young children and teenagers 
who grew up during the 1980's were told and made aware of the evils and 
the hardships associated with drug use. I fear for the kind of message 
the children growing up in the 1990's are receiving. Pro-drug use and 
legalization messages on the information superhighway through Internet 
are wrong.
  I was appalled to learn that this information even includes such 
things as tips on growing marijuana and ways to evade law enforcement. 
As more and more Americans jump onto this latest technological 
advancement, more and more citizens will have access to this ill-
advised information. For example, the information superhighway is now 
available in most elementary and secondary schools and in many American 
homes. Now elementary students like my own grandson can obtain valuable 
information about an obscure nation in the South Pacific during a 
social studies class and then flip a screen to discover the glories of 
drug use and criminal activity.
  Drug legalization advocates from all over the country are using this 
universal technology to further their movement and deceive more 
Americans. As Congress reviews this very important technology during 
the 104th Congress, the use of this service by pro-drug organizations 
and individuals for the propagation of this ilk must be addressed. As a 
nation founded on the freedoms of speech and press, the rights of life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must not be trampled by the 
disease of illegal drugs.

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