[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S16428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SENATE RESOLUTION 189--NATIONAL DRUG AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Dole, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. 
Murkowski, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Helms, Mr. Pressler, Mr. Bryan, 
Mr. Thurmond, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Coverdell, and Mr. 
Stevens) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
agreed to:

                              S. Res. 189

       Whereas illegal drug use among the youth of America is on 
     the increase;
       Whereas illegal drug use is a major health problem, ruining 
     thousands of lives and costing billions of dollars;
       Whereas illegal drug use contributes to crime on the 
     streets and in the homes of this nation;
       Whereas national attention has turned from illegal drug use 
     to other issues, and support for sustained programs has 
     decreased;
       Whereas public awareness and sustained programs are 
     essential to combat an on-going social problem;
       Whereas the answer to the illegal drug problem lies in 
     America's communities, with local people involved in grass 
     roots activities to keep their communities safe and drug 
     free, and in encouraging personal responsibility;
       Whereas the annual Red Ribbon Celebration, coordinated by 
     the National Family Partnership and involving over 80,000,000 
     Americans in prevention activities each year, commemorates 
     the sacrifices of people on the front lines in the war 
     against illegal drug use;
       Whereas substance abuse prevention, law enforcement, 
     international narcotics control, and community awareness 
     efforts contribute to preventing young people from starting 
     illegal drug use; and
       Whereas the American people have a continuing 
     responsibility to combat illegal drug use: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate designate Wed., Nov. 1, 1995, as 
     ``National Drug Awareness Day''.

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in recent weeks we have seen mounting 
evidence that teenage drug use in this country is on the increase after 
more than a decade of decline. One of the principal reasons for this 
change is that we have lost the public message that drug use is wrong. 
As a result, a new generation of America's young people are growing up 
without a clear message about the dangers of drug use. This is not a 
situation that we can afford to let continue. The last time this 
happened, in the 1960's and 1970's, we saw an epidemic of use that cost 
us tens of thousands of lives. Now we see teenage drug use on the rise 
again. Recent surveys confirm this disturbing trend and indications are 
that data to be released in the next few days will only confirm the 
worst fears. It is for this reason that Senator Dole and I held a press 
conference yesterday with major family groups, including the National 
Family Partnership, National Families in Action, CADCA, and PRIDE, to 
draw attention to the problems of returning teen drug use and the 
dangerous normalization of this use you can now see and hear on TV, in 
the movies, and in rock music. For this reason I am submitting a Senate 
resolution, cosponsored by over a dozen members, to declare November 1, 
1995, National Drug Awareness Day. It is important that we all 
recognize the importance of the issue. We need to renew our commitment 
to fighting drug use, to prevent a new generation from becoming victims 
of those who would mislead them into believing that drug use is just an 
alternative lifestyle with no adverse consequences. Drugs kill, they 
maim, they ruin lives, they cripple potential. We saw what happened 
when we ignored the problem once. We cannot let this happen again.

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