Political Quotes

“the story of our failure to foresee--and prevent--the crack cocaine epidemic is one of the most significant public policy mistakes in modern history. Although warning signs of an outbreak flared over several years, few took action until it was too late. We now face similar warning signs with another drug--methamphetamine. Without swift action now, history may repeat itself. So today, Senator Hatch and I, along with Senators Feinstein, Specter, Harkin, Wyden, D'Amato, and DeWine are introducing legislation to address this new emerging drug epidemic before it is too late. Within the past few years the production and use of methamphetamine have risen dramatically. Newspaper and media reports over the past few months have highlighted these increases. I have been tracking this development and pushing legislation to increase Federal penalties and strengthen Federal laws against methamphetamine production, trafficking, and use since 1990. And what I and others have found is alarming: From 1991 to 1994 methamphetamine-related emergency room episodes increased 256 percent-- the increase from 1993 to 1994 alone was 75 percent--with more than 17,000 people overdosing and being brought to the emergency room because of methamphetamine.”