[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E569-E570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 3633, THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TRAFFICKING 
                        PROHIBITION ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE CHABOT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, serious concerns have been raised by law 
enforcement, US Customs, drug abuse prevention counselors and 
commissions, independent studies and media reports about the 
trafficking of controlled substances from Mexico.
  ``Controlled substances'' are drugs that the Drug Enforcement 
Administration has either banned or subjected to closely regulated 
status because of their danger, addictiveness and potential for abuse. 
Controlled substances include illegal drugs such as heroin and closely-
regulated legal drugs such as Valium.
  Currently, it is particularly easy for an individual to purchase 
dangerous controlled substances in Mexico. These uppers, downers, 
hallucinogens, and ``date-rape drugs'' are obtained from so-called 
``health-care providers'' or ``pharmacists'' in Mexico with no 
documentation of medical need; then legally imported into the United 
States; and, according to DEA, frequently sold illegally on the street.
  Mexican drug sellers even include detailed instructions to help 
Americans avoid arrest or

[[Page E570]]

drug confiscation--these instructions tell Americans:
  ``Don't use marijuana or cocaine for 2 days before because dogs may 
smell.''
  ``Don't open boxes in Mexico.''
  ``Customs and Border Patrol don't care about medication.''
  ``Medication must be used only in U.S.A. not in Mexico.''
  Ironically, while Mexican authorities don't mind supplying dangerous 
drugs to American citizens, they strictly prohibit their use in Mexico. 
In fact, there have been high-profile cases where U.S. citizens have 
been arrested for opening sealed boxes of controlled substances while 
still on Mexican soil.
  This gaping hole in U.S. drug policy exists because of a so-called 
``personal use'' exemption to the Controlled Substances Act that allows 
American drug dealers to bring in up to a 90 day supply of such drugs 
without a legitimate prescription or medical purpose, as long as they 
are declared at the border. This exemption is so lax that studies along 
the southwest border have found records of people bringing in thousands 
of pills in one day--multiple drugs and thousands of pills in a single 
day for ``personal use.''
  A 1996 study published in Clinical Therapeutics, entitled 
Pharmaceutical Products Declared by US Residents on Returning to the 
United States from Mexico by McKeithan and Shepherd raises serious 
concerns about the trafficking of controlled substances along the U.S.-
Mexico border. The number and types of pills that the Shepherd study 
found at a typical border crossing backup DEA's view that these drugs 
are being used for illegal purposes.
  The Shepherd study estimated that in just one year at the Laredo 
border crossing, over 60,000 drug products were brought in to the U.S. 
by more than 24,000 people. All of the top 15 drug products, which 
represent 94.1 percent of the total quantity of declared drugs, were 
controlled substances. These dangerous drugs, classified as 
prescription tranquilizers, stimulants, and narcotic analgesics, are 
potentially addictive and subject to abuse.
  Specifically, Valium was declared by 70 percent of the people, with 
the average person bringing in 237 tablets. Rohypnol, commonly referred 
to as the ``date-rape drug,'' was brought in by 43 percent of those who 
declared their prescription medication. Over a full year, that means 
that over 4 million doses of Valium and almost 1.5 million doses of 
Rohpnol where brought in at a single border crossing. Further, the 
median age for those who declared Valium and Rohypnol was 24 and 26 
years old respectively.
  Fortunately, Rohypnol, which is ten times more potent than Valium, 
has recently been banned for importation into the U.S. Unfortunately, 
there are hundreds of dangerous controlled substances, readily 
available in Mexico, that pose similar threats to American citizens.
  This blatant perversion of our nation's drug laws must be stopped. 
The personal use exemption should allow American citizens who become 
injured or ill while traveling abroad to bring needed medicine back 
into the United States--it was never intended to allow drug dealers to 
legally import large quantities of hazardous, mind-altering drugs into 
our communities.

  Mr. Speaker, I have been working with Customs, DEA, and the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy to solve this problem. The legislation I 
have proposed offers a targeted and straight-forward solution to this 
problem.
  My proposal would limit the exemption for individuals who do not 
posses a prescription issued by a U.S. physician or documentation which 
verifies a legitimate prescription. An individual without this 
documentation would be limited to 50 dosage units of a controlled 
substance. The 50 dose limit would provide those people who have a 
legitimate need for a controlled substance ample time to seek medical 
attention in the U.S. while virtually eliminating the abuses that are 
now prevalent along the U.S. border.
  I want to be very clear about what this legislation does and does not 
do:
  The legislation is strictly limited to controlled substances. Again, 
controlled substances are drugs that the DEA has either banned or 
subjected to closely regulated status because of their danger, 
addictiveness and potential for abuse.
  The legislation is strictly limited to those individuals that do not 
posses a U.S. prescription or documentation that a prescription exists. 
The legislation does not impact the ability of people with a 
prescription issued by a U.S. doctor to import any medications, 
including controlled substances.
  The legislation does not in any way change current U.S. law as it 
relates to the importation of prescription drugs that are not 
considered controlled substances. In other words, this legislation will 
not make it more difficult for people to obtain drugs to treat heart 
disease, cancer, AIDS or other serious illnesses, because these drugs 
are not controlled substances. In fact, none of the top 20 heart, 
cancer or AIDS drugs are controlled substances.
  I would also like to note that although this problem occurs primarily 
along the Mexico border, it impacts communities well beyond the 
southwest. The study in Laredo found that residents from 39 states 
crossed the border and returned to the United States with a variety of 
drug products in large quantities.
  Mr. Speaker, this should not be a controversial proposal. DEA and 
Customs identified this as a critical problem over two years ago. 
General McCaffery has written to me and expressed his belief that there 
is general agreement among my office, ONDCP, DEA, and Customs regarding 
the scope of the problem and the proposed solution.
  Members of this House recognize that prescription drug abuse is a 
serious problem in this country, and a growing problem among our youth. 
The purity and low price of prescription pills makes them an attractive 
alternative to street drugs.
  More Americans abuse prescription drugs for non-medical purposes than 
use heroin, crack and cocaine. Surprisingly, prescription painkillers, 
sedatives, stimulants, and tranquilizers account for 75 percent of the 
top 20 drugs mentioned in emergency room episodes in 1995.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue that must be addressed, 
and I appreciate the leadership of Mr. McCollum, the Chairman of the 
Crime Subcommittee, and the other supporters of this legislation on 
this important issue.

                          ____________________