[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 15, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E809-E810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 1996

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
Report for Wednesday, May 15, 1996, into the Congressional Record.

                   Protecting Our Children From Drugs

       An estimated 12.2 million Americans consume illegal drugs 
     at least once a month, causing enormous human costs in terms 
     of lost productivity, drug-related violence, and ruined 
     lives. Over 20,000 Americans die each year in drug-related 
     deaths. Fighting drugs is not cheap. The federal government 
     will spend $15 billion this year, and local governments spend 
     far more. Yet half of Americans say that they, or someone in 
     their family, or a close friend, has used illegal drugs, and 
     drug use is increasing among young people. We may not have 
     lost the war on drugs, but neither are we winning it. We must 
     reassess and revitalize our efforts.
       Fighting drugs requires a systematic approach on a number 
     of fronts. There are four key elements to drug control 
     policy:


                            Law Enforcement

       There is no question that cities have felt the brunt of 
     drug-related crime, but law enforcement officials in our 
     small towns and rural areas express their concern that theft, 
     domestic violence, and juvenile crimes are increasingly 
     linked to illegal drugs. I answer letters each week from 
     Hoosier children who are worried about drugs and violence in 
     their schools.
       In southern Indiana, federal funds support local police 
     officers, Drug Enforcement Agency officers, and the Southern 
     Indiana Drug Task Force for undercover operations. The 
     National Guard and the Civil Air Patrol eradicate billions of 
     dollars of marijuana and other plants each year. We must 
     focus on youth, gangs, and domestic violence, and give law 
     enforcement officers, judges, and prosecutors the resources 
     to provide swift justice. Prosecutors must focus on key drug 
     crime figures, and judges should be given tough but flexible 
     sentencing guidelines to ensure that first-time offenders do 
     not become addicts, and that drug traffickers are severely 
     punished.


                  Education, Prevention, and Treatment

       Law enforcement officers tell me that, unless we reduce the 
     demand for drugs, no level of punishment or eradication will 
     be able to win the war on drugs. Drug education programs have 
     helped stigmatize drug use in schools and the workplace, and 
     treatment--when available--has proven successful in getting 
     people off drugs. Federal funds help numerous southern 
     Indiana drug prevention programs in schools and community 
     agencies. Studies show that, for each $1 spent on prevention, 
     $7 is saved on crime, health, and welfare costs. Treatment 
     can be improved with more research, early access to 
     treatment, and compassionate care to the victims of drug 
     abuse. We should also consolidate and streamline the dozens 
     of government prevention programs, working hand in hand with 
     America's religious, community, and educational groups.


                      Interdiction and Eradication

       The main focus of U.S. counternarcotics efforts should be 
     here at home, but there is a key international dimension--
     eradicating drug crops abroad and stopping the narcotics flow 
     across U.S. borders. Most illegal drugs enter the U.S. along 
     the Florida shoreline or the Mexican border. Federal 
     interdiction efforts include border control and interception 
     of drug planes and ships in international territory. We must 
     use the most sophisticated intelligence, technology, and 
     science to shield our borders from the drug threat.


                            source countries

       Drug traffickers can best be stopped by arresting, 
     convicting, and incarcerating them on their own turf, and 
     other countries must do their share. Money laundering, drug 
     production, and organized drug cartels are international 
     problems, and cannot be solved by the U.S. alone. We should 
     strengthen foreign law enforcement and judicial institutions. 
     Cooperation with Mexican authorities has improved, as 
     demonstrated by the recent destruction of a major Mexican-
     American drug ring. We should reward countries that convict 
     drug traffickers, eradicate cocaine and heroin farms, seize 
     drug shipments, and aggressively pursue illegal drug labs. We 
     should punish countries that do not do their share by linking 
     drug cooperation to trade sanctions and foreign assistance. 
     We must use the U.N. and other multilateral organizations to 
     share the burden and the costs of narcotics control.

[[Page E810]]

                             youth drug use

       Previous efforts to reduce drug use have been moderately 
     successful, but hard core drug users and drug-related 
     violence have proven more difficult to stop. Progress has 
     been made. The number of people who use drugs each month has 
     fallen from 22.3 million in 1985 to 12.2 million in 1994, and 
     drug-related homicides are down 25 percent. It is alarming, 
     however, that drug use is increasing among young people. One 
     in three high school seniors say they have used marijuana, 
     and reports show this figure is rising. In southern Indiana, 
     parents, teachers, and local officials tell me that youth 
     drug use is spreading swiftly in small towns and rural areas.
       Protecting our children from the scourge of drugs must be 
     our top priority. Tough penalties for drug violations can 
     help, but communities must redouble their efforts to keep 
     kids from trying drugs in the first place. The Safe and Drug 
     Free Schools Act provides federal funding to help local 
     schools with drug prevention. In southern Indiana, federal 
     COPS community policing grants have helped many law 
     enforcement agencies expand the DARE drug education programs 
     in schools. I oppose efforts in Congress to reduce or 
     eliminate these programs. There are dozens of other efforts, 
     and we should improve cooperation among parents, schools, 
     private groups, and law enforcement to identify, punish, and 
     treat repeat juvenile offenders.


                                actions

       Congress should take several additional steps to improve 
     our drug war strategy. First, we must streamline the more 
     than 50 federal agencies involved in the drug war. Second, we 
     should increase monitoring of legal ``source chemicals'', 
     which are used to process raw drugs and to make ``artificial 
     drugs'' such as methamphetamines. Third, we must ask our 
     foreign allies to do their fair share to fight drugs. I have 
     introduced legislation to impose trade sanctions on countries 
     that fail to control narcotics production and trafficking. We 
     should also strongly link foreign assistance with a country's 
     drug control efforts. Fourth, Congress should commit the 
     necessary resources to crack down on drug trafficking.
       We must recognize, however, that domestic and international 
     law enforcement can only do so much. As long as Americans are 
     willing to spend billions of dollars on illegal drugs, the 
     traffickers and pushers will find new ways to meet that 
     demand. If parents, schools, churches, community groups, and 
     public officials insist on personal responsibility and 
     provide support to end the cycle of addiction, we may be able 
     to keep the next generation of young people safe from the 
     scourge of drugs.

                          ____________________