Paul Coverdell: “I am convinced that most parents, until very recently, did not realize that we are in a new epidemic. I think they had…”

“I am convinced that most parents, until very recently, did not realize that we are in a new epidemic. I think they had heard year after year that drug use amongst our teenagers was falling. It did from 1980 to 1992. It was cut in half, which should be a sign of optimism for us as a people because it means that you can win this battle. As the Senator from Ohio said earlier, it is a long struggle. It will never be over. But we can change the behavior and relationship of teenagers to drugs. What we are doing here today is something that has to reverberate all across the country. That is that we have to warn our parents that once again their children are at grave risk of being embroiled in this epidemic. The second point that the Senator from Idaho makes that I think is very important is that if you think as a parent or a policymaker that this problem is an inner city ghetto problem, that it is just in poverty zones across our country, you are making a grave, grave mistake.”