cannabisnews.com: Dewine Introduces Anti-Drug Strategy!





Dewine Introduces Anti-Drug Strategy!
Posted by FoM on February 01, 1999 at 16:52:55 PT
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WASHINGTON Ohio Republican Sen. Mike DeWine on Thursday cited a need for consistency in the crusade to protect children from the dangers of drug abuse. 
With his Drug Free Century Act, which he introduced last week, DeWine said he wants to create a balanced approach to drug control in order to address every facet of the situation. "Drugs are a scourge on our society and a danger to our children," said DeWine at a press conference touting the Republican's anti-drug strategy for the 106th Congress. "If we want to weaken and eliminate this public enemy, we need to invest in a balanced drug control policy that addresses all the elements -- education, treatment, law enforcement and interdiction." Due to the decrease in drug abuse among American teen-agers during the late 1980s, Congress failed to keep up the momentum of the war on drugs into the early 1990s, DeWine said. This is evidenced by an 80% increase since 1992 of high school seniors using marijuana, cocaine and heroin. "As the fear goes down, the drug use goes up," DeWine said. "We can no longer keep investing taxpayer dollars in a multi-year strategy that has produced an increase in youth drug use over the course of the decade," DeWine said when introducing the bill last week. DeWine's legislation includes increasing penalties for drug offenses committed in the presence of a child as well as increasing punishment for powder cocaine-related offenses, making them equivalent to crack-related offenses. In an effort to reach children before drug dealers do, DeWine's legislation would also seek to strengthen the parent and family movement to spread the word about drug abuse. DeWine said his goals for the 106th Congress are an effort to contine what he considers the successes of the 105th Congress, which included directing more funding toward stopping the import of illegal drugs into the United States and international crop eradication. "We will be looking at the effectiveness of our prevention and treatment programs, and changing current laws to crack down on the elements within the illegal drug industry," DeWine said. DeWine was joined Thursday by Sens. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich., and John Ashcroft, R-Mo., who have co-sponsored the legislation. "This bill will make us a safer country," DeWine said. 
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