Chuck Grassley: “In the last several days, I have received a copy of the most recent PRIDE survey of youth drug use in this country. The…”

“In the last several days, I have received a copy of the most recent PRIDE survey of youth drug use in this country. The numbers are not encouraging. In fact, the numbers over the last several years have not been encouraging. Drug use among teenagers since 1992 has risen sharply. This is true for use of more traditional drugs, like heroin. It is true for the newer or more recently popular designer drugs, like meth and now ecstasy. I have spoken about these trends frequently here and in hearings. The Caucus on International Narcotics Control, which I co-chair, has held a number of hearings on these dangerous trends and their consequences. No one who is familiar with the details can be anything but concerned about what is happening. No one that is except those who seek to legalize drugs in our society and make them even more available than they now are. The legalizers, of course, do not admit that this is their intent. But it is like the old magician's trick, watch the birdie. They cloak their efforts to legalize with various disguises. They want marijuana for sick people. They want treatment not prisons. They want compassion not punishment. But it's an old game. It's just a variation on the useful lie: I am for a good cause so I don't have to be honest. Well, as the old saying has it, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. And they are trying to fool people again.”