A new anti-drug bill introduced by Sen. Michael DeWine, R-OH, is
being described as a Senate priority by supporters and a huge mistake by
critics who see it as nothing more than a rehash of old ideas and failed
anti-drug policies.
The bill, called the “Drug-Free Century Act”,
was
introduced Jan. 19 and has 12 co-sponsors. It is designed to “build on
anti-drug legislative success of the last Congress and to begin a
comprehensive effort “to restore a balanced, accountable and innovative
anti-drug strategy — one that will get us back on course to reducing
and eliminating drug use,” according to a statement from DeWine’s Senate
office.
The bill would reauthorize the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act of 1994, as well as a host of current prevention and
treatment programs. It also calls for a report on new drug-testing
technologies, addresses proposals for needle exchange policies, and adds
drug-free teen driving incentives. According to published figures, the
new bill would boost anti-drug spending by about $5 billion.
During a press conference on Capitol Hill Jan. 28, Sen. DeWine said,
“If we want to weaken and eliminate this public enemy, we need to invest
in a balanced drug control policy that addresses all elements —
education, treatment, law enforcement and interdiction.”
DeWine praised the efforts in the 105th Congress to enact the Western
Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act, which he said “directs more funding and
manpower toward international drug interdiction and crop eradication.”
“Now we will continue down that path with the Drug Free Century Act,”
he added.
Amy Ricketts, a spokesperson for DeWine, said that the bill is one of
the top five priorities for the 106th Congress, and said DeWine hopes it
will be a “comprehensive legislative initiative to reduce the demand for
drugs, especially in young people.”
According to statistics provided to WorldNetDaily by DeWine’s office,
congressional legislative efforts to reduce drug usage in the U.S. were
significantly better during the 1980s. “Since 1992,” the DeWine report
said, “we have seen dramatic increases in illicit drug use.”
The report said between 1988 and 1992, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy reported a 16 percent drop in overall marijuana use, a 25
percent reduction in overall drug use by adolescent Americans, and a 35
percent reduction in overall cocaine use. Between 1992 and 1998, though,
the office reported an 80 percent increase in marijuana use, an 80
percent increase in cocaine use, and a 100 percent increase in heroin
use among high school seniors.
The report also said that other disturbing trends included figures
which showed that almost half of the high school class of 1995 had tried
drugs, and that drug abuse related arrests for minors doubled between
1992 and 1996. Also, heroin-related emergency room admissions jumped 58
percent between 1992 and 1995, and methamphetamine- related emergency
room visits were 321 percent higher in the first half of 1995 than in
the same period in 1991.
According to the office’s web site, “Drug use among adolescents is on
the rise. Attitudes about the dangers of drug use began to deteriorate
in 1991, and illicit drug use, particularly of marijuana, began to
increase at that time and has been rising steadily since.” The office
also said, “Anti-drug messages are losing their potency and relevancy
among the Nation’s
youths and drug use surveys report that attitudes that can help to
protect youths from the dangers of drug use are deteriorating.”
But George Getz, national spokesman for the Libertarian Party,
disagreed with the premise for seeking more drug legislation. He said
any “new” legislation geared towards fighting drugs was simply a rehash
of older ideas that obviously don’t work.
“The Libertarian Party was the first official political organization
to call for (President Bill) Clinton’s impeachment, and we were the
first party to call for ending this prohibition against drugs,” Getz
told WorldNetDaily in an interview.
Getz said that he has never supported drug use, but said current
tactics “are just a Trojan horse for attacks on the Fourth Amendment, on
minorities, and all Americans.”
“This new legislation will simply spend money for more prisons, more
(federal) agents, and more interdiction efforts” that in the past have
led to numerous violations of constitutional rights to privacy and
protection from illegal searches and seizures. Getz said he believes the
“vision of seeing more federal agents kicking in the doors of innocent
people in the middle of the night and sticking guns into the faces of
3-year-old children” is not something most Americans would support.
“By ending this prohibition,” he said, “you take the profitability
out of illegal drug sales. If you can accomplish that, then you can end
most of the violence associated with drugs on our city streets and in
our schools.”
“The entire war on drugs has essentially created price supports for
drug dealers,” he added. “If you want to put them out of business,
repeal prohibition,” he said, pointing to the example of legalizing
alcoholic beverages in the 1930s and the steep reduction in crime and
violence associated with the move.
Yet, Getz said, despite the clarity of that example, virtually no one
in Congress is talking about changing the strategies federal and state
law enforcement agencies currently use to combat illegal drug
importation and use within the U.S.
The measure has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee,
where DeWine is a memberm and a co-sponsor, Sen. Orrin Hatch, is
chairman. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, Sen. Spencer Abraham,
R-MI, and Sen. John Ashcroft, R-MO, are among those co-sponsoring the
bill.
