[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 181 (Tuesday, November 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8533-H8534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                             OPIOID CRISIS

  (Mr. HARRIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend President Trump for 
his attention to the opioid epidemic sweeping over our great Nation and 
his declaration of a public health emergency.
  As we work to address this epidemic, I was happy to welcome Richard 
Baum, the acting director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, to Cecil County in Maryland's First Congressional District 10 
days ago for their Prescription Drug Take Back Day. My home State of 
Maryland has been hit particularly hard by the opioid crisis. Last 
year, 89 percent of all intoxication deaths in Maryland were linked to 
opioid abuse, and the frequency of opioid-related deaths quadrupled 
over the last 7 years.
  But despite these frightening statistics, State and Federal lawmakers

[[Page H8534]]

across the country are still pushing to legalize recreational 
marijuana. Marijuana use increases the risk of cancer, hinders brain 
development in adolescents and young adults, and encourages 
experimentation with even more dangerous drugs, including opioids.
  Mr. Speaker, with the opioid crisis our Nation is currently fighting, 
why on Earth should we increase access to an addictive gateway drug?

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