[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[April 29, 1996]
[Pages 660-661]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 660]]


Message to the Congress Transmitting the National Drug Control Strategy
April 29, 1996

To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit to the Congress the 1996 National Drug 
Control Strategy. This Strategy carries forward the policies and 
principles of the 1994 and 1995 Strategies. It describes new directions 
and initiatives to confront the ever-changing challenges of drug abuse 
and trafficking
    This past March I convened the White House Leadership Conference on 
Youth, Drug Use, and Violence in order to focus the Nation's attention 
on two major health problems faced by young people today--drug use and 
violence. The conference brought together over 300 young people, 
parents, clergy, community and business leaders, judges, prosecutors, 
police, entertainers, media executives, researchers, and treatment and 
prevention specialists from across America to examine solutions and keep 
us moving forward with proven strategies. The Vice President, General 
Barry McCaffrey, and I met with the participants in a series of 
roundtable discussions, discussing how to strengthen the efforts of 
families, the media, communities, schools, businesses, and government to 
reduce drug use and violence. Participants left with new energy and new 
ideas, determined to return home and begin implementing the solutions 
and strategies discussed that day.
    This conference took place at an important juncture in America's 
ongoing fight against drug abuse. In the last few years our nation has 
made significant progress against drug use and related crime. The number 
of Americans who use cocaine has been reduced by 30 percent since 1992. 
The amount of money Americans spend on illicit drugs has declined from 
an estimated $64 billion five years ago to about $49 billion in 1993--a 
23 percent drop. We are finally gaining ground against overall crime: 
drug-related murders are down 12 percent since 1989; robberies are down 
10 percent since 1991.
    At the same time, we have dealt serious blows to the international 
criminal networks that import drugs into America. Many powerful drug 
lords, including leaders of Colombia's notorious Cali cartel, have been 
arrested. A multinational air interdiction program has disrupted the 
principal air route for smugglers between Peru and Colombia. The close 
cooperation between the United States, Peru, and other governments in 
the region has disrupted the cocaine economy in several areas. Our 
efforts have decreased overall cocaine production and have made coca 
planting less attractive to the farmers who initiate the cocaine 
production process. And I have taken the serious step of cutting off all 
non-humanitarian aid to certain drug producing and trafficking nations 
that have not cooperated with the United States in narcotics control. 
Further, I have ordered that we vote against their requests for loans 
from the World Bank and other multi-lateral development banks. This 
clearly underscores the unwavering commitment of the United States to 
stand against drug production and trafficking.
    Here at home, we have achieved major successes in arresting, 
prosecuting, and dismantling criminal drug networks. In Miami, the High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Program, through its operational task forces, 
successfully concluded a major operation that resulted in the 
indictments of 252 individuals for drug trafficking and other drug-
related crimes. Operations conducted by the Drug Enforcement 
Administration's Mobile Enforcement Teams programs (MET), a highly 
successful federal tool for assisting local law enforcement, have 
resulted in more than 1,500 arrests of violent and predatory drug 
criminals in more than 50 communities across the nation.
    But as the White House Leadership Conference on Youth, Drug Use, and 
Violence showed, now is the time to press forward. We must not let up 
for a moment in our efforts against drug abuse, and drug abuse by young 
people, particularly.
    There are many reasons why young people do continue to use drugs. 
Chief among these are ignorance of the facts about addiction and the 
potency of drugs, and complacency about the danger of drugs. 
Unfortunately, all too often we see signs of complacency about the 
dangers of drug use: diminished attention to the drug problem by the 
national media; the glamorization and legitimization of drug use in the 
entertainment industry; the coddling of professional athletes who are 
habitual drug-users; avoidance

[[Page 661]]

of the issue by parents and other adults; calls for drug-legalization; 
and the marketing of products to young people that legitimize and 
elevate the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.
    All Americans must accept responsibility to teach young people that 
drugs are illegal and they are deadly. They may land you in jail; they 
may cost you your life. We must renew our commitment to the drug 
prevention strategies that deter first-time drug use and stop the 
progression from alcohol and tobacco use to marijuana and harder drugs.
    The National Drug Control Strategy is designed to prevent a new drug 
use epidemic through an aggressive and comprehensive full-court press 
that harnesses the energies of committed individuals from every sector 
of our society. As I said in the State of the Union, we must step up our 
attack against criminal youth gangs that deal in illicit drugs. We will 
improve the effectiveness of our cooperative efforts among U.S. defense 
and law enforcement agencies, as well as with other nations, to disrupt 
the flow of drugs coming into the country. We will seek to expand the 
availability and improve the quality of drug treatment. And we will 
continue to oppose resolutely calls for the legalization of illicit 
drugs. We will increase efforts to prevent drug use by all Americans, 
particularly young people.
    The tragedy of drug abuse and drug-related crime affects us all. The 
National Drug Control Strategy requires commitment and resources from 
many individuals and organizations, and from all levels of government. 
For the Strategy to succeed, each of us must do our part.
    We ask the Congress to be a bipartisan partner and provide the 
resources we need at the federal level to get the job done. I challenge 
state and local governments to focus on drug abuse as a top priority. We 
ask the media and the advertising and entertainment industries to work 
with us to educate our youth, and all Americans, about the dangers of 
drug use. Finally, we invite every American--every parent, every 
teacher, every law enforcement officer, every faith leader, every young 
person, and every community leader--to join our national campaign to 
save our youth.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,

April 29, 1996.