[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[February 12, 2002]
[Pages 215-219]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on the 2002 National Drug Control Strategy
February 12, 2002
Well, thank you very much, John. This
Nation has got some big challenges ahead of her. One big challenge, of
course, is to defend freedom, is to remain united as we fight for the
very values that we hold so dear.
And another big challenge is to battle drug use. Drugs undermine the
health of our citizens; they destroy the souls of our children. And the
drug trade supports terrorist networks. When people purchase drugs, they
put money in the hands of those who want to hurt America, hurt our
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allies. Drugs attack everything that is the best about this country, and
I intend to do something about them.
Today I'm proud to announce a national drug control strategy. It is
a plan that will lay out a comprehensive strategy for our Nation. We're
putting the fight against drugs in the center of our national agenda,
and I'm grateful for all of you who are here.
I want to thank John and those who work
with him for taking on this enormous task. I also want to thank Members
of the United States Congress who are here: Senators Graham and Hatch, thank you both for
coming today; I appreciate Elijah Cummings; and Ernest Istook from
Oklahoma; and Sander Levin from Michigan;
John Mica of Florida; Rob Portman of Ohio; and Chairman Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin; Mark Souder from Indiana. Thank you all for coming. Your presence here
shows our mutual commitment to put policy in place that will make a huge
difference in the lives of many, many of our citizens.
I'm also so grateful for Admiral Loy for
being here, of the United States Coast Guard. I had the honor of
traveling to Maine recently to announce a significant initiative for the
Coast Guard, a strong commitment by our administration to boost spending
to make sure the Coast Guard is modern and capable of not only defending
our borders but actively being engaged in the fight to interdict drugs
that could be coming into our country overseas. Admiral Loy, I'm proud
to have you here, and I'm proud of your team.
I also want to thank many Ambassadors who are here, Ambassadors from
our neighbors to the south, the Ambassador to Russia. I'm so grateful that you all are here and
willing to lend your nations' support in this great cause.
I also want to thank the citizens who are here. We've got a fabulous
group of citizens from around the Nation representing groups that are--
have made the decision to do something about drug use. We've got
community groups and prevention groups and law enforcement groups, and I
want to thank you for coming. And I hope you go back and, when you go
home, thank the folks that are working with you on behalf of a grateful
nation.
We've got a problem in this country. Too many people use drugs, and
this is an individual tragedy. And as a result, it's a social crisis.
There is no question that drug use wreaks havoc on the very fabric that
provides stability for our society. Drug use wreaks havoc on our
families. Drug use destroys people's ambitions and hopes.
More than 50 percent of our high school seniors have said that
they've experimented with illegal drugs at least once prior to
graduation. There's some new, ``hip'' drugs like ecstasy and GHB.
They're kind of fads. But they're dangerous and lethal, and they're
taking too many lives.
And we know the results. We know what can happen. The important bond
between parents and children are fractured and broken, sometimes
forever. Schools can turn into places of violence and chaos, as opposed
to places of learning and hope. Productive citizens can become so
dependent, so addicted that they live a life of hopelessness. We've got
to do something about it here in America.
Drugs constitute a huge challenge to the very health of our Nation.
Illegal drugs cost our health care system almost $15 billion a year, and
illegal drugs are directly implicated in the deaths of almost 20,000
Americans a year. Drug use causes people to commit crime, making
neighborhoods less safe and less secure for our families. Drugs help
supply the deadly work of terrorists--that's so important for people in
our country to understand.
You know, I'm asked all the time, ``How can I help fight against
terror? What can I do, what can I as a citizen do to defend America?''
Well, one thing you can do is not purchase illegal drugs. Make no
mistake about it, if you're buying illegal drugs in
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America, it is likely that money is going to end up in the hands of
terrorist organizations. Just think about the Taliban in Afghanistan: 70
percent of the world's opium trade came from Afghanistan, resulting in
significant income to the Taliban, significant amount of money to the
people that were harboring and feeding and hiding those who attacked and
killed thousands of innocent Americans on September the 11th. When we
fight drugs, we fight the war on terror.
Today I'm pleased to announce a new strategy to combat drugs in
America. We're determined to limit drug supply, to reduce demand, and to
provide addicts with effective and compassionate drug treatment. Each of
these steps is essential, and they're inseparable. And these steps must
be funded, which is why the budget I submitted to Congress calls for $19
billion to fight drug use.
We'll fight drug supply to reduce drug use and punish those who deal
in death. More than 280 metric tons of cocaine and 13 metric tons of
heroin enter our country each year. To stop drugs from reaching our
borders, the budget I've submitted includes nearly $2.3 billion dollars
for drug interdiction, an increase of over 10 percent from last year's
budget. With the Coast Guard's help and with our partners in other
nations, with the collaborative efforts with the leaders of all the
nations in our neighborhood, we're going to fight drug traffickers
whether they try to bring the drugs in this country by sea, by land, or
by air.
I also want to target the supply of illegal drugs that are the
source, particularly those in the Andean nations. That's why I've
requested $731 million for the Andean Counterdrug Initiative, the
countries of Bolivia and Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and
Venezuela. And I look forward to making sure the program is effective,
that crop substitution works and crop destruction goes forward.
I look forward to working with your Presidents and telling them
pointblank how anxious I am to make sure that our efforts to interdict
supply is effective and meaningful and measurable and real.
I've also asked our Homeland Security Director, Tom Ridge, to examine ways we can improve our national border
management system to make sure we achieve what we want on our borders,
which is commerce to move but to stop the illegal flow of drugs. A more
effective management of our border for homeland security will lead to
better drug interdiction in our southern and northern borders.
However, it is important for Americans and American families to
understand this, that the best way to affect supply is to reduce demand
for drugs, that we can work as hard as we possibly want on interdiction
but, so long as there is the demand for drug in this country, some crook
is going to figure out how to get them here. And so a central focus of
this strategy is to reduce demand, is to convince our children that the
use of drugs is destructive in their lives. And that starts with good
parenting. It is essential that our parents understand that they're the
child's most important teacher and that the message of our parents must
be unequivocable: Don't use drugs.
And so one of the things we're going to work hard to do is to fire
up the Parents Drug Corps, is to fund an initiative that will convince
and rally parents to do their job. I say that if we want to usher in a
period of personal responsibility, if we want a new culture that changes
from ``If it feels good, do it,'' to one that says, ``We're responsible
for our decisions,'' it begins with moms and dads being responsible
parents, by telling their children they love them on a daily basis. And
if you love somebody, you'll also tell them not to use drugs.
We know that community involvement can help defeat demand.
Congressman Portman and Congressman Levin know that firsthand. They have been involved in
their communities to rally interests and concerned citizens to come with
a local grassroots effort, all aimed at educating kids and
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all aimed at pulling community resources together to make a clear
statement, a clear, responsible statement that drugs will destroy; don't
use them.
And so we support the Drug-Free Community Support Program, by $10
million, to encourage these grassroots efforts, kind of the bottom-up
effort to reduce demand in America. The money will help coalitions--the
formation of coalitions, effective coalitions of business leaders and
teachers and families and law enforcement and, oh, the faith community.
We must never forget the faith community in America. Our Government must
not fear the involvement of faith-based programs. As a matter of fact,
we've got to welcome faith-based programs.
This initiative is coupled with a Faith-Based Initiative, will help
rally the armies of compassion, those citizens who love their neighbor
like they'd like to be loved themselves, to help send a clear message
that we love you; we love you so much we're going to convince you not to
use drugs in the future.
We also know that early drug education defeats demand, and so in my
budget there are $644 million on the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Program. That is a significant commitment. We also want to
make sure that it is effective, that the message that gets into the
schools is one that sends this clear message: Don't use drugs, no ands,
ifs, or buts. Don't use them. And we know the media can have a powerful
effect. And so we've got a $180 million on the National Youth Anti-Drug
Media Campaign, a series of messages which lay out the hazards of drug
use. And so ours is a concerted effort to reduce demand. It's central to
making sure we've got an effective strategy.
As demand goes down, so will supply. As we reduce demand in America,
it will take the pressure off of our friends in the south. It will make
it easier for our friends in Mexico to deal with the drug problem. It
will make it easier for Colombia to be able to deal with the growers and
the mobsters who tend to wreak havoc in your country. The two are
linked, but the reduction in demand is central to an effective strategy.
And finally, treatment: We must aggressively promote drug treatment
because a nation that is tough on drugs must also be compassionate to
those addicted to drugs. Today, there are 3.9 million drug users in
America who need but who do not receive help. And we've got to do
something about that. We've got to help.
We're, therefore, proposing $3.8 billion for drug treatment and
research. This is an increase in our budget of over 6 percent. We'll
work with State governments to provide treatment where it is needed
most, and the Federal dollars will be distributed to States to support
efforts that work, not efforts that might sound good but efforts that
actually accomplish the objective of saving people's lives. This
includes a $100-million increase in treatment spending as part of a plan
to spend $1.6 billion over the next 5 years.
Now, one of the things in our strategy that I hope you find
interesting and is important is that we're actually going to start
targeting treatment spending for those who are most vulnerable, people
like pregnant moms, the homeless, people with HIV/AIDS, and teenagers.
So while we've asked for an increase in treatment, there will be some
targeted people we're trying to help, to make sure that those get
special attention and special help in our treatment programs.
I believe by moving aggressively, without hesitation or apology, in
all three of these areas we can make an enormous difference in America.
And progress must be measured. I told John
when he signed on, I'm the kind of fellow that likes to say, ``What are
the results?'' I'd like to know, actually, are we making a difference?
And so here's our goal; here's the goal by which we'll be measured;
here's the goal which I'll be measured first, and then John will
definitely be measured if I'm measured--[laughter]--
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I want to see a 10 percent reduction in teenage and adult drug use over
the next 2 years, and a 25 percent reduction in drug use, nationally,
over the next 5 years. Those are our goals.
We understand we can't do it alone here in Washington, and that's
why our approach is a community-based approach. That's why we recognize
the true strength of the country is our people. And we know there's
thousands of parents, thousands of educators, thousands of community
activists, law enforcement officials, all anxious to come together to
achieve this national strategy.
I know they're ambitious goals, but when we meet them, our Nation is
going to be safer and more hopeful. You see, there is a moral reason for
this fight. There is a moral reason to achieve this grand national
objective, and it's this: Drugs rob men and women and children of their
dignity and their character. Illegal drugs are the enemies of ambition
and hope.
Thank you for joining the fight. May God bless you all.
Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. in the East Room at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to John P. Walters, Director, Office
of National Drug Control Policy, who introduced the President. The
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
transcript of these remarks.