WASHINGTON --- Senator Chuck Grassley today said that a resolution to designate June 8, 2006 as the day of a National Vigil for Lost Promise passed the Senate late Thursday night. Grassley sponsored the resolution to help remember American youth who have died due to drug abuse. The resolution encourages young people to live a drug-fee life.
Grassley said a vigil will be held at the Drug Enforcement Agency on June 8 by family members of young people who have died from drugs.
“Drugs impact the lives of our youth far too often. These are kids who have all the potential in the world, and their lives are destroyed by using illegal drugs,” Grassley said. “I hope our young people will learn from the tragedies of others.”
Grassley has a long history of working to keep kids off drugs. He has been an active supporter of community coalitions and Drug Free Communities grant participants. In 2004, Grassley held a hearing on the abuse of anabolic steroids and their precursors by adolescent and amateur athletes. One of the families taking part in the vigil on June 8, testified at Grassley’s hearing that their son had committed suicide because of taking steroids.
In the late 1990s, Grassley launched an extensive first-of-its kind statewide initiative to address Iowa’s drug problem at the grassroots. Called “Face It Together,” or FIT, the effort was designed to help Iowans work together to keep their schools, workplaces and communities drug-free.
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