Paul Coverdell: “this morning we gathered in the Senate Chamber to remember a very solemn moment in American history: the needless loss…”

“this morning we gathered in the Senate Chamber to remember a very solemn moment in American history: the needless loss of 168 citizens in Oklahoma City. It reminds me of another tragic assault that goes on against the youth of our country on a day-to-day basis. In the last 36 months, drug use among our teenagers 8 to 15 years of age has doubled, and we are in the midst of a new epidemic. What does that mean? That means that nearly 2 million--2 million--American youth have been ensnared in the assault by the drug lords of this hemisphere and their lives are potentially ruined, devastated and stunted. Not only will their lives be impaired and ruined, but a chain of events will follow because as these youngsters are consumed by drugs, they are driven into a life of crime, an effect on our Nation which is immeasurable. Of the 35,000 prisoners in Georgia this morning, 80 percent of them are there today because of drug-related offenses. The impact of this war, this assault on the youth of our country is having a devastating impact across the land as it drives crime, assault and battery, murder, theft, robbery, burglary.”