[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TEEN DRUG USE SKYROCKETING UNDER CLINTON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Mica] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House once again, and I have 
been before the House before, to talk about the problem of drug and 
substance abuse and the problem with our young people in this country, 
and the problem of the drug epidemic across this Nation.
  Tonight I want to again call to the attention of my colleagues these 
absolutely startling statistics that have come out within the last 
month about teen drug use skyrocketing, particularly in the years since 
1992 to 1995, under this administration.
  If we look at the overall drug use and abuse, particularly, again, 
among our teenagers, 12 to 17 years old, it is up 78 percent. Marijuana 
use, 1992 to 1995, is up 105 percent. LSD use, up 105 percent also. 
Cocaine use is up 166 percent.
  Even in my area, a wonderful, calm, traditionally family-oriented 
area of central Florida, heroin use and abuse is skyrocketing, 
particularly among our young people. I am alarmed as a parent, I am 
alarmed as a father, and I am alarmed as an American about this trend.
  It is easy to trace this trend. In the Clinton years, from 1992 to 
1995, we saw the steps that led to this. First we saw the firing by the 
new President of two-thirds of the drug czar's staff. Then we saw the 
appointment of Joycelyn Elders, the chief health officer for the 
Nation, who said: Just say maybe; just say maybe try it.
  We saw the dismantling of our drug interdiction efforts to stop 
drugs, cocaine and heroin, at the borders and at their sources, almost 
a total dismantling proposed by this administration.
  And then finally, a great insult, we saw the lowering of the 
standards in the highest office in this land, the While House. The 
White House, which is supposed to set the standards, in fact, lowered 
the standards, and we saw the records of people being employed that 
were so bad that they had to institute a drug-testing program at the 
insistence of the Secret Service.
  Mr. Speaker, that is the problem. This is the situation. What do we 
do about it? This Congress, this new majority, and I, as a parent and 
an American, think we must act. This Congress is taking steps. Under 
the leadership of this new majority, we are restoring money to the drug 
czar's office. We are working with a new drug czar to see that that is 
an effective office.
  We know that we must fight drugs on four fronts: by education, 
interdiction, enforcement, and treatment; that we cannot, as this 
administration has said and proposed and done, just treat the wounded 
in battle. That is what we are doing by putting all of our sources and 
resources in treatment only.
  Mr. Speaker, we are going to restore those funds, and we are going to 
make a four-pronged approach. We are going to lick this problem, but it 
is going to take everyone from the White House to the courthouse, every 
parent, every concerned citizen, and every Member of Congress to join 
this effort, because we are losing a generation. We cannot afford to 
lose our young people in this war on drugs. We must band together. This 
Congress must act in a positive fashion. We must approach this in a 
bipartisan manner. Then we can take back our children, we can take back 
our streets, we can take back our neighborhoods.
  We have 1.6 million Americans incarcerated in this land. Seventy 
percent of them are in jails and prisons because of drug use and abuse. 
This is the problem we have created. This is the problem we need to 
address. We must join together to start with our young people and bring 
this drug epidemic facing our Nation and our youth under control.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge your cooperation in this effort, and that of my 
colleagues.

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