Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the "Drug-Free America Act of 2001." As many of my colleagues know, drug use by the children in our country continues to be a serious concern of mine. The "Drug-Free America Act" offers a series of initiatives that I believe will support efforts across the board to discourage drug use at all levels in America.
Mr. President, I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Somewhere along the way, we lost the clear, consistent message that the only proper response to drugs is to say an emphatic "NO." We're supposed to be more sophisticated. More tolerant. More willing to listen to notions of making dangerous drugs more available. What all of this "more" has meant is that we have more young people using more drugs at younger ages. Today we are competing with a drug culture that tells our children "drugs are cool," that "drugs are safe." Drugs are being more aggressively marketed, and are presented as being "user friendly."
We cannot remain silent. I look forward with working with President Bush in providing the resources and message necessary to let everyone know that drugs are bad, that drugs will damage your brain and your body, and that drug use will hurt you, your friends, your family, your community, and your future.
The drug problem confronting our country is not static. Methamphetamine, Ecstasy, and other new drugs pose different challenges and require different solutions than the heroin and cocaine epidemics. Treatment, education, prevention, and law enforcement efforts must all be strengthened and updated. The National Institutes of Health have some exciting research efforts underway that could really make a difference as we try to reclaim the lives of our fellow citizens who have been seduced by the false pleasures of drug use. There are several education and prevention initiatives that we can strengthen to support the educators, counselors, community activists, and parents who work hard every day to keep our children and our communities drug free. We should support ongoing efforts by the National Guard Counterdrug Directorate, and re-authorize the U.S. Customs Service, our Nation's oldest law enforcement agency. We need to believe in our future. I believe that by working together, we can, we will make a difference. I hope my colleagues will join me in working to address this important problem before it becomes any worse.
Left unanswered, we will see another generation of young lives blighted. We will see families torn up by a widening circle of hurt from drug use. We saw what a similar wave of drug use did to us and to a generation of young people in the 1960s and 1970s. We are smarter now, we have better tools and better knowledge. We cannot afford to go through this again. I hope we can begin today to renew our commitment to a drug free future for our young people. I have said this in numerous town meetings, and I now say it here, "working together, we can make a difference."
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Drug-Free America Act, and look forward to working with my colleagues on these important initiatives.
Mr. President, I send this bill to the desk, and request that it be printed in the appropriate place in the Record.