[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22803-22805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               DRUG ABUSE

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I express my deep concern about the 
developing trends in drug abuse among our kids. As cochairman of the 
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, I am often confronted 
with reports about the latest drug trends, but recently I have become 
more alarmed with what these reports contain. Drug dealers are 
beginning to market their deadly substances to an increasingly younger 
crowd so they can become hooked at a younger age.
  Young people are the most at-risk populations we have in drug abuse, 
which is why it is disturbing to see

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highly addictive drugs such as meth, heroin, even prescription pain 
killers, antidepressants, and steroids marketed and distributed in new 
ways--with an emphasis upon new ways--to get a greater number of very 
young people, particularly elementary children, addicted. I want 
Congress and the American people to know what is going on with our kids 
and what we need to do to stop these very dangerous trends.
  We have things such as candy-flavored methamphetamine. It is one of 
the biggest and latest gimmicks that drug dealers use to lure our kids 
into addiction. Flavors such as strawberry, known as ``Strawberry 
Quick,'' and chocolate are clearly being used to make methamphetamine 
seem less harmful and more appealing. This type of meth is also being 
marketed in smaller amounts, making it cheaper--because money is an 
issue--and, hence, more accessible to children. At least eight States 
have reported cases of candy-flavored meth, and many law enforcement 
officials are expecting Strawberry Quick to infiltrate their States in 
the near future.
  What is even more disturbing is that many kids may not realize they 
are using a deadly substance. In fact, that is the motivation behind 
the drug dealers and distributors. According to my colleague Senator 
Feinstein, some kids reported that they thought Strawberry Quick was an 
energy drink and were misled by drug dealers into trying meth for the 
first time.
  Methamphetamine abuse has reached epidemic proportions, and the fact 
that drug dealers are trying to get children addicted at such a young 
age underscores the importance of taking quick action to eliminate this 
danger. That is why I joined my colleague Senator Feinstein in 
introducing the Saving Kids From Dangerous Drugs Act. This legislation 
will double the Federal criminal penalties for drug dealers who flavor 
or disguise illegal drugs to make them more appealing to people under 
age 21, and it will triple the penalties for repeat offenders. I hope 
my colleagues will take a look at this piece of legislation and join 
Senator Feinstein and me in passing this legislation soon, because we 
have to end the practice of purposefully altering illegal drugs to make 
them more appealing to young people in order to get more people hooked 
at a very early age.
  The ongoing revelations of widespread steroid abuse in professional 
sports, along with the recent suicide of World Wrestling Entertainment 
superstar Chris Benoit, highlight a disturbing trend in sports and the 
entertainment world, and it has a lasting impact upon our kids. It is 
alleged that Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son in what is 
commonly called a ``roid rage,'' which is caused by a chemical 
imbalance in the brain brought on by steroid abuse. If this is proven 
true, it will be yet another tragic tale of the destructive nature of 
steroids.
  What is even more tragic is the fact that steroid abuse among high 
schoolers has been rising. The 2006 Monitoring the Future Survey, a 
study done annually to monitor drug abuse among middle and senior high 
school students, shows that the percentage of 12th graders who have 
admitted trying steroids has increased dramatically. Kids look up to 
these athletes and performers as role models. We know that. When they 
see their heroes using these terrible substances, they get the 
impression that it is okay to use steroids.
  Steroids are also marketed to kids. Students who participate in 
sports are facing enormous pressure to perform at high levels, and we 
are seeing more and more teens turn to steroids to gain an athletic 
advantage. You can find Web sites encouraging teens to buy substances 
called DHEA, which has been declared a steroid by the U.S. Anti-Doping 
Agency, as a new way to bulk up. The major sports leagues, with the 
exception of Major League Baseball, have banned DHEA, even though it 
remains legal in this country. Though DHEA is used as a legitimate 
supplement for thousands of people, teens are using it as an 
alternative to illegal steroids.
  I introduced a bill earlier this year that would reinstate the ban 
that was imposed on DHEA in the 1980s, but I think we can find a way to 
keep minors from obtaining this substance while allowing adults to use 
the drug legitimately. GNC, the world's leading dietary supplement 
provider, has a policy not to sell DHEA to anyone under 18, and for 
good reason. We need to pass that legislation as soon as we can.
  We should also take note of one of the fastest emerging drug trends 
among kids today--the abuse of prescription drugs. Most people don't 
even realize that their medicine cabinets can contain drugs just as 
powerful, just as addictive as meth and heroin. Because they are 
prescribed by a doctor, and millions of people use them, kids think 
anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax and pain killers such as Vicodin and 
OxyContin are harmless. Several examples of abuse occur every day when 
kids come home from school and take a pill to relax. But eventually one 
pill is not enough to make them feel better. Soon these kids take more 
pills and try different mixtures until they can obtain a sufficient 
high, and that is often with deadly results.
  What is so troubling about this is a significant number of teens are 
experimenting with prescription drugs. According to a 2005 study 
conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, one in five teens 
has admitted using pain killers to get high, and the organization 
reports it is even getting worse. The 2006 Monitoring the Future Survey 
shows that the abuse of prescription drugs has doubled since 2002. 
Access to these drugs is widespread. Not only can teens obtain these 
drugs from home or in school, they can also get them on line and 
through ``pharm parties.''
  Law enforcement officials have increasingly broken up pharm parties 
where teens grab prescription drugs from home and pass them around to 
friends. These drugs are often pooled in large bowls and young people 
take a pill or two, but they have no idea what pill they are taking. 
There are hundreds of Internet video clips where teens appear strung 
out on pills and alcohol as a result of pharm parties. We need to do a 
better job as parents and legislators to educate and prevent these 
fast-growing trends from reaching epidemic proportions. We have to 
educate the public about the proper ways to dispose of old medicines, 
and we need to help law enforcement deal with the large amount of 
illegal purchases at online pharmacies.
  Another sad trend is taking hold in Dallas, TX, where earlier this 
summer a 17-year-old high school student became the 23rd victim of a 
drug called ``cheese.'' ``Cheese heroin'' is a mixture of black tar 
heroin and Tylenol PM that is usually smoked or snorted and often very 
deadly. Because it resembles actual cheese and can be purchased for as 
little as $2 a hit, more kids in the Dallas area have been trying the 
new drug with terrible results. Though cheese heroin has only been seen 
in the Dallas area, don't think for a second it is going to stay in the 
Dallas area. Cheese heroin is cheap and being marketed solely to 
children.
  Law enforcement officials will be the first to tell you that the new 
drugs tend to emerge in the larger cities and then move out to the 
suburbs. We should all be concerned about the drug trend in Dallas, 
because the sooner we can stem it, the better we can prevent it from 
spreading across the country.
  The good news is that the people in the Dallas community are not 
taking this new drug lightly. We have school officials and police who 
have been holding assemblies, lectures, PTA meetings, and classroom 
discussions to get the word out about cheese heroin.
  A public service announcement, made in Dallas by local students, is 
currently airing throughout the area, and a hotline number has been 
taking a large number of calls for those seeking assistance to keep 
their loved ones from succumbing to this cheese heroin. Hopefully, 
their efforts will stop cheese in its tracks and maybe protect the rest 
of us around the country.
  The Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse established a 
task force that is responsible for this effort. The key to this task 
force's success is that it incorporates all sectors of the Dallas 
community. Engaging and involving all sectors of our local communities 
is one of the best solutions to

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keeping our children from abusing drugs. That is why I formed, about 10 
years ago, an organization called the Face It Together Coalition--we 
call it FIT for short--in my effort to combat drug abuse in my own 
State of Iowa. My goal with Face It Together is to bring to the same 
table parents, educators, businesses, religious leaders, law 
enforcement officials, health care providers, youth groups, and members 
of the media to promote new ways of thinking about how to reach and 
educate Iowans about the dangers of drug abuse. With everyone working 
together, we will make a difference in our communities. Moreover, 
together we can build healthy children, healthy families, healthy 
communities, and a healthy future.
  In closing, I believe we have a moral obligation to ensure that our 
young people have a chance to grow up without being accosted by drug 
dealers at every turn, and particularly when they are in elementary 
school. We need as a country to create a strong moral context to help 
our kids know how to make the right choices. Research has shown time 
and again that if you can keep a child drug free until the age of 20, 
chances are very slim that they will ever try or become addicted. That 
is the task we face. We owe it to ourselves and the future of our 
country to protect our kids from drugs.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, consistent with our policy of going back 
and forth across the aisle, I ask unanimous consent following the 
remarks of the Senator from Ohio, that I be recognized for up to 10 
minutes and that I be followed by the junior Senator from Montana.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  The Senator from Ohio is recognized.

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