    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [October 11, 1997]
    [Pages 1341-1342]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    October 11, 1997

        Good morning. We have worked hard to help parents pass on their
    values to their children and to protect them from bad influences. Today
    I want to talk about a powerful new tool in our arsenal to help parents
    and to protect our children from the dangers of drugs.
        Of all the investments we can make in our children's future, none is
    more important than our fight against the greatest threat to their
    safety: illegal drugs. Under the leadership of our national drug czar,
    General Barry McCaffrey, we've fought to keep drugs away from our
    borders, off our streets, and out of our schools with a tough and smart
    antidrug strategy. Working together with State and local law
    enforcement, we've made real progress. But unless we teach our children
    about the dangers of drugs, our efforts will be in vain.
        Make no mistake; without our guidance, children are more likely to
    use drugs. Although overall drug use has declined dramatically, drug use
    by our young people has doubled. Among eighth graders, typically 13 and
    14 years old, drug use has nearly tripled. We do not understand all the
    reasons for these unsettling statistics, but we do know this: While
    illegal drug use by young people has risen, the number of antidrug
    public service ads has fallen by more than a third.
        In the meantime, movies, music videos, and magazines have filled the
    gap--and our children's minds--too often with warped images of a dream
    world where drugs are cool. We know that the media can powerfully affect
    our children, for good or ill. That is why we acted to protect our
    children from tobacco advertisements and why we've urged the liquor
    industry to refrain from running hard liquor ads on television. Now we
    must take the next step and give our children the straight facts: Drugs
    are wrong, drugs are illegal, and drugs can kill you.
        Young people who have not used illegal drugs by the age of 21
    probably never will use them. That's why we must reach our children with
    the right message before it's too late. I just signed into law
    legislation that includes $195 million to launch an unprecedented high-
    profile, prime-time media campaign to reach every child in America
    between the ages of 9 and 17 at least four times a week. For the very
    first time, we'll be able to use the full power of the media--from
    television to the Internet to sports marketing--to protect our children
    from drugs. Teaching our children about the dangers of drugs today can
    mean saving their lives and our shared future tomorrow.
        I am pleased that the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Ad
    Council will serve as advisers for this vitally important project. I'd
    like to say a special word of thanks to the Partnership for a Drug-Free
    America and its chairman, Jim Burke, for the outstanding example they
    have already set in showing us what good ads can do. And I urge business
    leaders all over our country to help us reach our goal by matching the
    funds that the Congress has appropriated. Finally, I ask all Americans
    to join in this crusade.
        Above all, I ask the entertainment industry to do its part as well.
    Never glorify drugs; but more important, tell our children the truth.
    Show them that drug use is really a death sentence. Use the power of
    your voice to teach our children and to help shape our Nation's future.
        Thanks for listening.

    [[Page 1342]]

    Note: The address was recorded at 2:47 p.m. on October 10 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 11.