Ehrlich on Washington column, May 10, 1998

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Week of May 10, 1998 FIGHTING FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA Every year, new studies are released documenting soaring levels of illicit drug use, especially among teenagers. Often overshadowed by the numbers and the statistics are broken lives and destroyed futures. As much as Hollywood, the media, and some policy-makers wish to ignore the facts, illicit drug use has become the dominant problem in American society. How bad is the problem? Today, more than 13 million Americans buy illicit drugs, spending more than an estimated $57 billion annually. Further, the nationwide street price for most illicit drugs is lower than at any time in recent years, and the potency of these drugs, especially heroin and crack, is higher than ever. For example, whereas heroin was 4 to 10 percent pure in the 1970s, it is now seventy to ninety percent pure and far more addictive. The explosion of drug use in America is related to about half of all street crime. Consider that the 1.5 million Americans arrested in 1996 for violating drug laws equals the number of residents living in Vermont, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia combined. Eight out of every ten criminals behind bars abuse drugs. The drug trade enriches international crime organizations, thereby posing a significant threat to our future national security. Over the last few years Americans have witnessed a huge escalation of drug use among children, even among children under the age of ten. One study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America shows that the number of fourth to sixth graders experimenting with marijuana increased a staggering 71 percent between 1992 and 1997. Another study shows that overall drug use among 12 to 17 year-olds has jumped 78 percent since 1992; and yet another shows a 12 year-old who uses marijuana is 80 times