[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2019-S2020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            IT'S FOR KIDS II

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in December, the Department of Health 
released annual figures on teenage drug use. As in the preceding 3 
years, what the numbers showed was a continuing, alarming increase in 
teenage drug use. The number of eighth graders using any illicit drug 
in the year before the survey has almost doubled since 1991, from 11 to 
21 percent. The proportion of increased use among 10th graders has 
risen by almost two-thirds, from 20 to 33 percent. It has risen by 
almost 50 percent among seniors in high school, from 27 to 39 percent. 
Stop for a minute and think about the reality behind the numbers.
  One in every five 13 year olds has used an illicit drug in the last 
year. One in every three 15 year olds and close to two of every five 
seniors have used drugs. Marijuana use is leading the way. Regular use 
of marijuana by kids is on the rise. Nearly 1 in every 20 seniors now 
uses marijuana daily. We know from bitter experience, that marijuana 
use, especially regular use, increases dramatically the likelihood of 
further, more serious drug use. We know only too well that such use 
leads to dramatic increases in addiction, violent crime, treatment 
dependency, and a cycle of hurt that can endure for years.
  Moreover, the recent survey reveals that teenage attitudes about the 
dangers of drug use are also changing--for the worse. An increasing 
number of young people at younger ages no longer see drug use as 
dangerous.
  Just this past Tuesday, the Partnership for a Drug Free America 
released information that showed that kids at younger ages, including 
kids in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, are starting to try drugs.
  We have not seen increases in use or changes in beliefs about the 
dangers of use like this since the late 1960's and 1970's. Those of us 
who are adults today know what that increase in use and changes in 
attitudes did to this country. We are still living with the 
consequences of social attitudes that legitimized drug use. We are 
still paying the costs to treat the addicts that began as teenage users 
then.
  Let's remind ourselves of a simple truth. The most likely users of 
drugs are kids. Not adults. Not grown men and women. Not our peers and 
friends and colleagues. Not our business partners or professional 
associates. Kids. It begins with kids. Most addicts today began as 
teenagers. Most addicts tomorrow will begin as teenagers or younger. 
And whom do the pushers of drugs target? Kids. Whom do the purveyors of 
drug messages in our movies and popular music target? Kids.
  You do not have to go very far to discover why. Young people are more 
vulnerable to messages that would have them test limits. They are less 
aware of long-term consequences for present acts. They are more easily 
influenced by peers and fashions. It is our kids that are most at risk 
for messages about drug use. It is in order to protect kids that we 
take steps to control drugs in our society. Even the majority of the 
most ardent legalization advocates do not advocate drug use by kids. 
Most of them draw the line at that. Most.
  But our problem lies in this. We cannot be halfhearted and ambivalent 
in our counterdrug messages if we are to tell our kids not to use 
drugs. We cannot, on the one hand, make drugs readily available and 
condone their use by law and custom and keep them from our kids. We 
have ample evidence of this in legal drugs, in the problems of teenage 
use of alcohol and tobacco.
  But I am talking about substances that are far worse and more 
dangerous. We cannot afford to make these drugs part of our daily 
lives. The public is aware of that. They oppose it. But what we see is 
a growing effort by a few to get around that opposition. Ultimately 
they are not likely to succeed. But they can and have so muddled the 
public message as to send mixed signals to the very people we want to 
protect. Kids.
  From music to videos to movies and political campaigns, we are seeing 
efforts once again to glamorize drugs. We are seeing opinion leaders 
and members of our cultural elite portray drug use as simply a personal 
choice that is harmless and benign. Many of these individuals act as if 
the only issue is for responsible adults to decide for themselves. They 
speak as if it is only adults that we need to think about. This, 
however, is not in fact the case.
  If you do not believe this, talk to parents. Talk to teachers. Talk 
to the health and law enforcement professionals who daily see the 
consequences. Most important, listen to what kids are telling us about 
what is happening in their schools. To their friends.
  Like other Members here, I receive mail from many people. Among them 
are our young people. Their letters are full of concern and hope. One 
of the concerns is about drugs in school. Thus Byron, 14 years old, 
writes, ``As I have

[[Page S2020]]

grown up, I have begun to notice more and more people I know using 
legal and illegal drugs. Never before did I even know `Meth' existed. 
But now, my school feels there is a need to take courses about it. I 
agree with you that drug use should stop, and fast.'' Or Christina, 12, 
who writes about her concern for what's being done to stop underage 
drug use. Or Heath, a senior, concerned about growing use in junior 
high and elementary schools. Or Jennie, a junior, who has seen peers 
using PCP and crack or acid. Or the many others who have written 
confused about what they should think or what our policy is.
  It is to this and following generations that we are responsible for 
and to. They look to us for guidance. They rely on us to protect them 
and their futures. That is what is at issue here. The efforts that we 
undertake to keep our society drug free are the things that we do to 
protect our kids. We do this because it is the responsible thing to do. 
We do this because no sane or civilized society can long endure that 
fails its children.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________