    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 12, 1998]
    [Pages 40-41]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum on Ending Drug Use and Drug Availability for Offenders
    January 12, 1998

    Memorandum for the Attorney General

    Subject: Zero Tolerance for Drug Use and Drug Availability for Offenders

        Crime rates in this country have dropped significantly for 5 years,
    and the number of Americans who have used drugs is down nearly 50
    percent from its peak 15 years ago. Also, drug-related murders have
    dropped to their lowest point in a decade, and recent drug use surveys
    indicate that--for the first time in years--teen drug use is leveling
    off, and in some instances, modestly decreasing. All of this news is
    encouraging.
        Nonetheless, much more can and needs to be done to continue to bring
    down drug use and increase public safety. With more than half the
    offenders in our criminal justice system estimated to have a substance
    abuse problem, enforcing coerced abstinence within the criminal justice
    system is critical to breaking the cycle of crime and drugs. My
    Administration consistently has promoted testing offenders and requiring
    treatment as a means of reducing recidivism and drug-related crime. We
    have worked to expand the number of Drug Courts throughout the country,
    increase the number of Federal arrestees and prisoners who are tested
    and treated for drugs, and launched an innovative ``Breaking the Cycle''
    initiative, which is a rigorous program of testing, treatment,
    supervision, and sanctions for offenders at all stages of the criminal
    justice process. And under your leadership, the Federal Bureau of
    Prisons provides models of excellence in drug detection, inmate testing,
    and drug treatment.
        We can do still more to enforce coerced abstinence among State
    prisoners, probationers, and parolees. When a drug user ends up in a
    State prison, we have a chance to break his or her addiction. Convicted
    offenders who undergo drug testing and treatment while incarcerated and
    after release are approximately twice as likely to stay drug- and crime-
    free as those offenders who do not receive testing and treatment. But
    when drug use inside prisons is ignored, the demand for drugs runs high.
    In this environment, correction officials struggle to keep their

    [[Page 41]]

    prisons drug-free. Often drugs are smuggled in by visitors; sometimes
    even by compromised correctional staff.
        To maintain order in our prisons, to make effective treatment
    possible, and to reduce drug-related crime, we cannot tolerate drug use
    and trafficking within the Nation's prisons. Thus, I direct you to:
        (1) Amend the guidelines requiring States receiving Federal prison
    construction grants to submit plans for drug testing, intervention, and
    treatment to include a requirement that States also submit a baseline
    report of their prison drug abuse problem. In every subsequent year,
    States will be required to update and expand this information in order
    to measure the progress they are making towards ridding their
    correctional facilities of drugs and reducing drug use among offenders
    under criminal justice supervision.
        (2) Draft and transmit to the Congress legislation that will permit
    States to use their Federal prison construction and substance abuse
    treatment funds to provide a full range of drug testing, drug treatment,
    and sanctions for offenders under criminal justice supervision.
        (3) In consultation with States, draft and transmit to the Congress
    legislation that requires States to enact stiffer penalties for drug
    trafficking into and within correctional facilities.

                                                          William J. Clinton