Political Quotes

“last year the Chicago Defender published an article entitled ``Cook County Drug Offenders Lose Out in Drug Treatment Revival.'' Though the article focused on Cook County in Illinois, it brought to the forefront a national trend towards treatment for drug offenders. Troubled by the devastating impact of drugs on the criminal justice system, the courts are diverting more drug offenders away from prisons, mandating instead that they enroll in substance abuse rehabilitation programs. Keevin Irons, for example, a 41-year-old native of suburban Chicago Heights, had been hooked on drugs for 20 years when a Cook County circuit judge gave him 4 years' probation on a drug possession charge and ordered him to 28 days in a residential treatment center. Mr. Irons said of the treatment that was aimed at getting him to recognize the patterns of abuse in his life, and I quote, ``Treatment has brought me a long way to learn about my disease and what made me do the things that I did. I see my life differently now. I can go out to society and be a productive citizen. Recovery is a beautiful thing.'' Mr. Speaker, recovery is a beautiful thing, which is why I am pleased to see that President Bush's 2002 National Drug Control Strategy includes over $850 million for various drug prevention programs and an additional $1.6 billion over the next 5 years for drug treatment programs.”