    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [December 11, 2007]
    [Pages 1535-1538]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Discussion on Teen Drug Use Statistics
    December 11, 2007

        Thank you. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. Director
    Walters and Dr. Volkow, thank you for joining me. We've got the Ambassador de
    Mexico y tambien Colombia; thanks for coming. I appreciate you all
    being here. Where are the--Embajador, bienvenidos--los dos. Thank you
    all for coming. I appreciate the students from Brown Academy for joining
    us. I want to thank officials in my administration for being here. I
    welcome our honored guests.
        I am pleased to be here with the men and women who have enlisted,
    have signed up, in our country's fight against illegal drugs. You battle
    an unrelenting evil that ruins families, endangers neighborhoods, and
    stalks our children. You're part of a mission that will shape our
    Nation's future. You're fulfilling the highest calling of citizenship;
    you're giving your fellow Americans the chance for a better life. And I
    thank you for your good and noble work.
        I've just come from a roundtable--or was it a square table--but
    either way, it was a table--[laughter]--where I met with community
    activists and youth leaders, people who've heard a call to answer our
    Nation's need to be engaged in a fierce battle against drug abuse, those
    who encourage it and those who profit from it. The drug trade has
    enriched our society's enemies. It has funded acts of terror. It feeds
    an addiction that causes some Americans to turn to crime.
        When I took office, our country was facing a troubling rate of drug
    use among young people. A new generation was in danger of being swept up
    in a cycle of addiction, crime, and hopelessness. This was a looming
    crisis, and I felt it required an aggressive response.
        And so in 2002, I committed our Nation to an ambitious goal to cut
    drug use amongst young people by 25 percent over a 5-year period. John
    Walters agreed with that goal. He's been in
    charge of leading

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    an effort to achieve that goal. We took a tough and balanced approach.
    We would cut the supply of drugs coming to our country through
    aggressive action by law enforcement personnel and international
    partners. We would fight the demand for drugs here at home through
    prevention and treatment. In other words, our strategy was balance. On
    the one hand, we'll interdict and prevent and disrupt the drug supply
    networks, and on the other hand, we'll work to convince people they
    shouldn't use drugs in the first place. And those that have, there's
    prevention--or there's recovery programs for you.
        This strategy has had promising results. This morning I was briefed
    on the latest ``Monitoring the Future'' study, which tracks drug use
    amongst America's youth. It reports that since 2001, the overall use of
    illicit drugs by young people has dropped by 24 percent. Marijuana use
    fell by 25 percent, steroid use by a third, and the use of ecstasy by 54
    percent. The most encouraging statistic relates to the use of
    methamphetamine, which has plummeted by an impressive 64 percent since
    2001.
        One exception to this trend is a rise in the abuse of certain
    prescription painkillers. This is troubling, and we're going to continue
    to confront the challenge. Yet the overall direction is hopeful. Because
    Americans took action, today, there are an estimated 860,000 fewer
    children using drugs than 6 years ago. Because of--Americans took
    action, because grassroots activists stood up and said, ``We've had
    enough,'' because law enforcement worked hard, communities are safer,
    families are stronger, and more children have the hope of a healthy and
    happy life.
        This is a remarkable achievement, and it is a tribute to the work of
    a lot of really good people. I'd like to remind people, government can
    rally, government can fund, but the true work is done at the grassroots
    level. We've got representatives from our law enforcement organizations
    who are with us today. They've risked their lives to cut the supply of
    drugs to our streets. Over the past 6 years, they have seized record
    amounts of cocaine coming into the United States. I see that Admiral
    Allen is here from the United States Coast
    Guard. They've got people out there on those cutters in the high seas
    doing incredibly important work. Admiral, you thank those troops for all
    they're doing.
        We've worked with our allies to stop their drugs coming in from
    Colombia. And Madam Ambassador, you
    need to thank your strong President for
    leading the fight against drugs in Colombia.
        We're working with the President of Mexico, Mr. Ambassador, and we're helping that man take the lead. He's made
    some tough decisions and courageous decisions. He's led an unprecedented
    assault against drug organizations in Mexico, and we want to continue to
    work together. We got to have a strategy on both sides of the border to
    deal with a common problem. So I want to thank you both for being here.
    Pass word on to your bosses that I admire their courage and appreciate
    their hard work.
        I appreciate the fact that our drug enforcement focused on meth, and
    therefore, we have a dramatic drop. You might remember, a while ago,
    that methamphetamine seemed to be a--just running so rampant that people
    were worried that we could never get our--get a handle on it. And yet
    there's been a dramatic drop. A lot of it has to do with the fact that
    our law enforcement officers, in both urban and rural settings, are on
    the frontline of disrupting the suppliers.
        They appreciate the fact that we're dismantling drug trafficking
    operations. We're seizing supplies, and we're putting the peddlers of
    poisons where they belong, and that is behind bars. Appreciate your
    outstanding service. For all those who wear the uniform of law
    enforcement, our Nation owes you a great debt of gratitude.
        At home, countless Americans have worked to reduce the demand of
    illegal drugs. It's one thing to affect supply, but

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    when you reduce demand, it affects the capacity of people to supply. In
    other words, if we have people--fewer people using, there's not going to
    be a need to supply as much. On the frontlines of this efforts are
    parents, are teachers, are counselors who are sending our kids a clear
    message: Drug use is not fun; it is not glamorous; it is harmful. And I
    want to thank those who are making that a clear message. Drugs destroys
    lives.
        This addiction is hard to break. It's a hard thing to break a drug
    addiction. Yet many Americans are breaking it. With us today are some
    young people who have fought to win this difficult struggle. And we met
    with them, and I want to talk about two of them. I asked their
    permission, and they said: ``That's fine, Mr. President. You can--you go
    ahead and lay our stories out.'' And the reason I want to do so is
    because I want others to hear the stories of two youngsters who made an
    incredibly tough decision to save their life.
        First is Sara Johnson. She started using
    drugs when she was 12 years old. As her addiction grew, she would steal
    drugs from medicine cabinets without even knowing what the drugs were.
    She pawned things to get money so she could go out on the streets to buy
    drugs. And she hit bottom, and she was scared. Yet she summoned up the
    courage to get treatment. And she didn't like the treatment at first.
    She told me that after about 6 months, she decided she wanted to leave
    without permission. [Laughter] Then she reassessed her life. She made a
    personal choice and went back into treatment. And she is in recovery,
    and she's working for a better life. I said: ``What do you want to be,
    now that you've made this incredibly important step in your life at a
    young age? Do you have a goal?'' She said, ``Plastic surgeon.'' Then she
    looked at me, and I thought for a minute she said, ``Well, you could use
    a little work, Mr. President.'' [Laughter] But Sara, thank you for your
    courage. I'm proud you're here. You might just stand up and let the
    people take a look at you. Thank you.
        Hear the story of Justin Calderon. He
    was raised by a mom who had a serious drug addiction. Drugs crowd out
    love and responsibility. If you love drugs more than you love your
    child, serious problems can arise, and this is a man who knows it
    firsthand. He spent his childhood on the streets, seeking drugs and
    committing crimes to support his habit. One night, he was alone in a
    jail cell, and after years of addiction and struggle, he told himself,
    he said, ``You are better than this.'' And so he's in a recovery
    program. He's been off drugs for a year. He plans to go back to school.
    And what he wants to do is to give back to society by helping other
    young people fight drug addiction. Bienvenidos--welcome.
        Two joyous souls who are inspiring others, I told them, I said, you just
    don't know whose lives you've touched, but you have touched the
    President's life. But there's somebody paying attention to you. And so
    thanks for leading.
        So today we celebrate progress against substance abuse. We also know
    that this work is not finished. There's still a lot more work to be
    done. Thousands of children still live in homes torn apart by drugs.
    Thousands more are still considering whether to try drugs for the first
    time. It's up to all Americans to be involved in this important struggle
    against drug addiction. It's up to all of us to urge our fellow citizens
    to make the right choice and to help those who make the wrong choice
    understand the consequences and that there is a more hopeful future.
        In this effort, we need more help from role models that our kids
    look up to. It's really important for professional sports associations
    to continue to crack down on drug abuse by athletes. And it's important
    that more people in Hollywood stand up and send a right message to our
    children.

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        All Americans have a responsibility to encourage people to turn away
    from the losing spiral of addiction and to make good choices in life.
    But the great thing about our country and the reason I'm so optimistic
    is there are thousands and thousands of people willing to take the lead
    in their own communities, people who have seen a problem and said,
    ``We're going to do something about it.'' Like this good woman right here from eastern Kentucky. She said, ``We live
    in rural America, and we got a significant prescription drug problem
    that's affecting every family in that area.'' And so instead of wringing
    her hands, she said, ``I think I'm going to do something about it,'' and
    has led the charge. We can help, but it's her initiative, along with
    thousands of others who have stepped up and said, ``We're going to save
    lives one soul at a time.'' Why? Because they love America, and they
    love their neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves.
        This mission of dealing with drug abuse is worthy of a great people
    and a great nation. It's a worthy mission. It is a struggle that
    requires us to confront torment with patience, weakness with
    understanding, and evil with resolve, hope, and love.
        I want to thank you all for being a part of this great effort. I
    thank John and all those in the grassroots
    for accomplishing an important goal. I urge you to continue staying in
    this battle. I say to our young folks: Make the right choice in life,
    and you can realize your dreams here in the United States of America.
        Thank you for being here. God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:33 a.m. in Room 450 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to
    Nora D. Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse; Ambassador
    to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana and President Felipe de Jesus
    Calderon Hinojosa of Mexico; Ambassador to the U.S. Carolina Barco
    Isakson and President Alvaro Uribe Velez of Colombia; and Karen Engle,
    executive director, Operation UNITE.