[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2125-E2126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE WAR ON DRUGS--TIME TO RECOMMIT OUR EFFORTS

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, November 8, 1995

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, there are those who would like us to 
believe that we are losing the war on drugs. The truth is that during 
the Reagan-Bush years drug use in the United States actually dropped by 
more than 50 percent, from 24 million users in 1979 to 11 million in 
1992.
  Unfortunately, many of those hard-fought gains have been wasted under 
President Clinton's watch. The fact is that the trend toward increased 
drug use, across the board, corresponds directly to President Clinton's 
term of office. For whatever reason, this President is either unwilling 
or unable to address this crisis. It is time for congressional 
leadership.
  Reducing the demand for illegal drugs is essential to the most 
important things common to all Americans: our children and families, 
our safety and the safety of our children, our health and the economy. 
The legislation outlined below represents a comprehensive and effective 
strategy aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs:
  H.R. 143 requires the pre-employment drug testing of applicants for 
Federal employment.
  H.R. 134 denies certain Federal benefits to convicted drug felons.
  H.R. 136 requires random drug testing of all Federal employees.
  H.R. 138 requires courts to notify employers of employees' drug 
convictions.
  H.R. 141 suspends Federal education assistance to convicted drug 
felons.
  H.R. 1706 provides quality assurance and expands drug testing in the 
private sector.
  H.R. 135 prohibits federally sponsored research pertaining to the 
legalization of drugs.
  H.R. 147 reduces the minimum quantity of drugs for which a person may 
be executed.
  Drug use and drug addition cause most of the violence and permeate 
virtually every social, health, and economic problem we face. Please 
join in cosponsoring any or all of the above bills by contacting my 
office.
  Mr. Speaker, today I insert into the Record a Washington Post story 
which reports that hospital emergency room visits by cocaine and other 
drug users are up again.

             Emergency Rooms Treat Half-Million Drug Cases

       A half-million Americans wound up in hospital emergency 
     rooms with drug-related problems last year, including a 
     record number with cocaine-related episodes.
       Cocaine figured in 23 percent or 142,000 of those emergency 
     visits, up 15 percent from 1993, according to estimates 
     released yesterday by a federal agency that tracks the effect 
     of drug use.
       Drug-related episodes were estimated to account for 0.6 
     percent of the 86 million visits to hospital emergency 
     departments in the United States in 1994. Fifty-five percent 
     of 

[[Page E 2126]]
     all drug-related episodes occurred among those age 26 to 44.
       Thirteen percent of those treated for drug-related problems 
     had used heroin, sometimes in combination with cocaine, 
     according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
     Administration. The number of heroin-related episodes rose 
     slightly to 64,000 from those reported in 1993.
       ``Speed,'' ``crank'' and other meth-amphetamine drugs 
     figured in 17,400 cases, a 75 percent increase above the 1993 
     figure.
       ``At a time when it appears there is a resurgence in 
     cocaine-related emergency department episodes, we cannot 
     afford to cut prevention and treatment funding,'' Health and 
     Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala said in a 
     statement.
       The most commonly reported motive for drug use was 
     attempted suicide. That was the reason in an estimated 
     193,000 of the 508,000 episodes, or 38 percent. Dependence on 
     drugs was reported as a motive in 165,000 episodes, or 32 
     percent, and ``recreational use'' in 43,000 episodes, or 3 
     percent.
       Other reasons for coming to the hospital included 
     unexpected reactions (66,000 or 13 percent) and seeking 
     detoxification (52,000 or 10 percent). Multiple reasons were 
     listed in some cases.
       The federal agency regularly surveys emergency departments 
     of hospitals in its Drug Abuse Warning Network and 
     extrapolates how many such episodes occurred nationally.
       Cocaine-related episodes shot up from 29,000 in 1985 to 
     110,000 in 1989. They dropped in 1990 to 80,000, then 
     increased again to 120,000 in 1992. They leveled off in 1993 
     at 123,000 before escalating in 1994.
       Adults from their mid-twenties to mid-forties had twice as 
     many cocaine-related emergency visits as younger and older 
     adults. Men were more than twice as likely as women to show 
     up with cocaine problems.
       Some 40,000 episodes were related to marijuana and hashish, 
     up 39 percent from 1993. The hospital records indicated 
     almost half of these patients also used alcohol and cocaine.
       The estimates were based on a survey of 496 hospitals with 
     24-hour-a-day emergency departments. The government has 
     conducted similar surveys since the late 1970s.

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