[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 29, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       DRUG LEGALIZATION FICTION

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 1995
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, President Clinton, in his State of the 
Union Address, criticized Hollywood for the increased level of violence 
in film. Yet once again, the President was noticeably silent on the 
drug issue.
  In the latest dangerous nonsense from Hollywood, the movie ``Pulp 
Fiction,'' the character played by John Travolta exclaims how wonderful 
his recent trip to the Netherlands was, primarily because of their drug 
legalization policies.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit into the Record some crime and 
drug statistics, provided by K.F. Gunning, M.D., the president of the 
Dutch National Committee on Drug Prevention, for the years since the 
Netherlands implemented their legalization programs in the early 
1980's.
  1988-1992 cannabis use among pupils increased 100 percent; 1984-1992 
use increased by 250 percent; shootings up 40 percent; car thefts up 62 
percent; hold-ups up 69 percent.
  Addict Rate in the Netherlands: From 1919-1993, there was a 30-
percent rise in registered cannabis addicts. The total number of 
addicts registered with the Consultation Bureau for Alcohol and Drug 
Problems has risen 22 percent since 1988 to 54,000 addicts in 1993, of 
which 25,300 were new addicts.
  Organized crime groups: 1988(3), 1991(59), 1993(93).
  Mr. Speaker, the test has been conducted and the results are in from 
the Netherlands. And despite all the misinformation about the 
consequences of dangerous drug use being put out by the Partnership for 
Responsible Drug Information, the Drug Policy Foundation, and our 
friends in Hollywood, the legalization of drugs should never become a 
serious policy option.


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