[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 56 (Monday, April 29, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4112-H4113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




1996 NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                             UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Committee on Banking and Financial Services, 
Committee on Commerce, Committee on Economic and Educational 
Opportunities, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Committee 
on International Relations, Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on 
National Security, Committee on Resources, Committee on Science, 
Committee on Small Business, Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Committee on Veterans' Affairs and Committee on Ways 
and Means:

To the Congress of the United States:
  I am pleased to transmit to the Congress the 1996 National Drug 
Control Strategy. This Strategy carries forward the policies and 
principles of the 1994 and 1995 Stretegies. It describes new directions 
and initiatives to confront the ever-changing challenges of drug abuse 
and trafficking.
  This past March I convened the White House Leadership Conference on 
Youth, Drug Use, and Violence in order to focus the Nation's attention 
on two major health problems faced by young people today--drug use and 
violence. The conference brought together over 300 young people, 
parents, clergy, community and business leaders, judges,

[[Page H4113]]

prosecutors, police, entertainers, media executives, researchers, and 
treatment and prevention specialists from across America to examine 
solutions and keep us moving forward with proven strategies. The Vice 
President, General Barry McCaffrey, and I met with the participants in 
a series of roundtable discussions, discussing how to strengthen the 
efforts of families, the media, communities, schools, businesses, and 
government to reduce drug use and violence. Participants left with new 
energy and new ideas, determined to return home and begin implementing 
the solutions and strategies discussed that day.
  This conference took place at an important juncture in America's 
ongoing fight against drug abuse. In the last few years our nation has 
made significant progress against drug use and related crime. The 
number of Americans who use cocaine has been reduced by 30 percent 
since 1992. The amount of money Americans spend on illicit drugs has 
declined from an estimated $64 billion five years ago to about $49 
billion in 1993--a 23 percent drop. We are finally gaining ground 
against overall crime: drug-related murders are down 12 percent since 
1989; robberies are down 10 percent since 1991.
  At the same time, we have dealt serious blows to the international 
criminal networks that import drugs into America. Many powerful drug 
lords, including leaders of Colombia's notorious Cali cartel, have been 
arrested. A multinational air interdiction program has disrupted the 
principal air route for smugglers between Peru and Colombia. The close 
cooperation between the United States, Peru, and other governments in 
the region has disrupted the cocaine economy in several areas. Our 
efforts have decreased overall cocaine production and have made coca 
planting less attractive to the farmers who initiate the cocaine 
production process. And I have taken the serious step of cutting off 
all non-humanitarian aid to certain drug producing and trafficking 
nations that have not cooperated with the United States in narcotics 
control. Further, I have ordered that we vote against their requests 
for loans from the World Bank and other multi-lateral development 
banks. This clearly underscores the unwavering commitment of the United 
States to stand against drug production and trafficking.

  Here at home, we have achieved major successes in arresting, 
prosecuting, and dismantling criminal drug networks. In Miami, the High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Program, through its operational task 
forces, successfully concluded a major operation that resulted in the 
indictments of 252 individuals for drug trafficking and other drug-
related crimes. Operations conducted by the Drug Enforcement 
Administration's Mobile Enforcement Teams program (MET), a highly 
successful federal tool for assisting local law enforcement, have 
resulted in more than 1,500 arrests of violent and predatory drug 
criminals in more than 50 communities across the nation.
  But as the White House Leadership Conference on Youth, Drug Use, and 
Violence showed, now is the time to press forward. We must not let up 
for a moment in our efforts against drug abuse, and drug abuse by young 
people, particularly.
  There are many reasons why young people do continue to use drugs. 
Chief among these are ignorance of the facts about addiction and the 
potency of drugs, and complacency about the danger of drugs. 
Unfortunately, all too often we see signs of complacency about the 
dangers of drug use: diminished attention to the drug problem by the 
national media; the glamorization and legitimization of drug use in the 
entertainment industry; the coddling of professional athletes who are 
habitual drug-users; avoidance of the issue by parents and other 
adults; calls for drug-legalization; and the marketing of products to 
young people that legitimize and elevate the use of alcohol, tobacco, 
and illicit drugs.
  All Americans must accept responsibility to teach young people that 
drugs are illegal and they are deadly. They may land you in jail; they 
may cost you your life. We must renew our commitment to the drug 
prevention strategies that deter first-time drug use and stop the 
progression from alcohol and tobacco use to marijuana and harder drugs.
  The National Drug Control Strategy is designed to prevent a new drug 
use epidemic through an aggressive and comprehensive full-court press 
that harnesses the energies of committed individuals from every sector 
of our society. As I said in the State of the Union, we must step up 
our attack against criminal youth gangs that deal in illicit drugs. We 
will improve the effectiveness of our cooperative efforts among U.S. 
defense and law enforcement agencies, as well as with other nations, to 
disrupt the flow of drugs coming into the country. We will seek to 
expand the availability and improve the quality of drug treatment. And 
we will continue to oppose resolutely calls for the legalization of 
illicit drugs. We will increase efforts to prevent drug use by all 
Americans, particularly young people.
  The tragedy of drug abuse and drug-related crime affects us all. The 
National Drug Control Strategy requires commitment and resources from 
many individuals and organizations, and from all levels of government. 
For the strategy to succeed, each of us must do our part.
  We ask the Congress to be a bipartisan partner and provide the 
resources we need at the federal level to get the job done. I challenge 
state and local governments to focus on drug abuse as a top priority. 
We ask the media and the advertising and entertainment industries to 
work with us to educate our youth, and all Americans, about the dangers 
of drug use. Finally, we invite every American--every parent, every 
teacher, every law enforcement officer, every faith leader, every young 
person, and every community leader--to join our national campaign to 
save our youth.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, April 29, 1996.

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