[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 159 (Friday, October 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15143-S15144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DRUG POLICY, DRUG LEADERSHIP

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, several weeks ago on this floor, I 
addressed the issue of what I regard as a serious and growing problem 
in this country. The problem has two major features: Disturbing 
indications of a new drug epidemic among the Nation's young; and a lack 
of leadership from the administration either to provide the necessary 
moral guidance at home or to sustain programs overseas.
  I called upon Democrats and Republicans to join in an effort to 
reverse this trend. In addition, Senator Coverdell and I worked to 
restore funding to our international narcotics efforts as did Senator 
McConnell. We hope that as we go to conference with the House that we 
can preserve the funding for our international programs that contribute 
to our overall efforts to fight drug abuse. Yesterday, Senator Hatch, 
in an eloquent and forceful statement, joined me in summoning up the 
awareness and resolve that we need to address now the dangerous trends 
we see in teenage drug use. Something that we must do before we find 
ourselves deep in a new wave of addicts and ruined lives.
  Two weeks ago, Senator Dole pointed out the seriousness of the 
problems that we face in an insightful opinion piece. As he noted 
there, we have lost our focus on drug policy. As a result the voice 
most commonly heard on the drug issue is from those who favor 
legalization in one form or another. Despite the fact that the public 
routinely, by overwhelming majorities, opposes any such notion, the 
press, our cultural elite, and some of our political leaders act as if 
this was not the case. The most remembered voice on the Clinton 
administration's drug policy was the call by Joclyn Elders, the Surgeon 
General of the United States, for legalization. The result of a policy 
of replacing Just Say No with Just Say Nothing has had predictable 
results.
  Our interdiction efforts have fallen off as the focus on law 
enforcement has diminished. The priorities at DEA and Customs have 
shifted away from international efforts. Even domestically these 
agencies are doing far less to combat drug trafficking, as declines in 
arrests and seizures indicate. The Coast Guard has seen its budget 
shrink 

[[Page S 15144]]
for drug control, and DOD counterdrug funding has plummeted. More 
seriously, the administration has not fought for its own programs or 
supported its own drug czar in Congress. And the President has 
abandoned the bully pulpit--something that his own Attorney General, 
his Secretary of Health and Human Services, and his drug czar have 
called one of the most important tools in our counterdrug arsenal.
  As a consequence, the message that drug use is both harmful and wrong 
is simply not getting to the audience that most needs it--young 
Americans. Marijuana use is on the rise, dramatically. Lest anyone 
forget, this was how the drug epidemic of the 1960's and 1970's got 
started. Marijuana was the gateway to an age of major drug addiction. 
We are seeing a repeat of that history because we failed to learn from 
our history. Today's marijuana, however, is many times more potent than 
anything from the 1960's, and we know a great deal more about the 
dangerous health consequences of even small use. Thus, we are not 
ignorant. We are, however, in danger of being negligent.
  It is not as if we have learned nothing about what works. After many 
years of trial and error, we hit upon the mix of things that gets the 
job done. The first hurdle we overcame in the efforts of the late 
1980's was to realize that counterdrug efforts cannot be a sometime 
thing. We need consistency and sustained effort.
  We also learned that we needed comprehensive programs that combine 
effective interdiction, law enforcement, education, prevention, and 
treatment in well-publicized efforts. This is what it takes to send a 
clear message to the most at-risk population--young people between the 
ages of 12 and 20. When we managed to put these things together we saw 
significant declines in use.

  Now, however, all that is at risk. We have retreated from what works. 
We have seen rhetoric that tries to ignore one of the most significant 
parts of the message about illegal drug use--that drugs are illegal 
because they are dangerous and wrong. Instead, the voice we hear says 
that drugs are dangerous because they are illegal. Or just as bad, that 
the only way to deal with the problem of drug abuse is through 
treatment. And we have seen program changes that reinforce this view. 
Once again, however, we can see the obvious: When you do not make it 
clear that drug use is not only harmful but wrong, and that use has 
consequences both social and judicial, then the coherence of the 
message is lost on our young people.
  We need to revitalize our efforts. To remind ourselves of our 
responsibilities and of what is needful. It also involves asking 
ourselves what are the appropriate responses of the Federal Government. 
It certainly is not simply throwing money at programs.
  There are a number of things the Federal Government is best able to 
do and most responsible for. First, there is a need to develop sound 
strategies that have substance rather than rhetoric as their main 
components. Second, Federal authorities need to focus on those things 
State and local authorities are less able or unable to do. This means, 
in particular, a major focus on interdiction, international control 
efforts, and law enforcement at and near the borders. These are areas 
that have suffered the most in recent years.
  Third, we need consistent, visible leadership that ensures the level 
of cooperation and oversight of individual programs necessary to 
produce coordinated efforts. We need a drug czar whose authority is 
backed by a President committed to the effort.
  Fourth, we need to renew our public agenda. To encourage local 
groups, family organizations, and private, voluntary groups in their 
efforts to fight drug abuse and the creeping influence of legalizers. 
We need a Just-Say-No czar with visibility and credibility.
  Fifth, we need to revitalize our interdiction efforts at and near the 
borders and to recover the lost ground in recent years. We need to stop 
using our Federal drug law enforcement officers as deputy sheriffs in 
local jurisdictions. They should be focusing on the major cases that 
involve multiple jurisdictions. We need a recommitment to protect our 
borders, something even more important as we move forward with NAFTA.
  Sixth, we need a major international effort to go after the major 
criminal organizations that are responsible for a spreading wave of 
criminality here and abroad.
  Finally, we need congressional commitment to sustain realistic 
programs that have proven records. We need all of these things today.
  As chairman of the Drug Caucus, I have highlighted the problems in 
the past. It is time for us to move ahead. In this regard, as a first 
step, I intend to offer a sense-of-the-Senate resolution in the coming 
days calling for a day of national drug awareness. This is in 
conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, sponsored by the National Family 
Partnership. I call on my colleagues and all Americans to wear a red 
ribbon during the period of October 23-31 in memory of a real hero in 
the drug war, Enrique Camarena, a DEA agent killed fighting drug 
traffickers, and as a reminder of and commitment to a drug free 
country.
  In the coming weeks I will be working with the private sector and my 
colleagues to bring greater focus to and effort on the drug issue. It 
is time. It is necessary. It is right. We need to make the whole 
country one big drug-free zone.

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