Political Quotes

“I would like to thank Congressman Rahall for organizing this morning-hour on prescription drug abuse. I would also like to thank Chairman Rogers for his work as well as Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, Congressman Steve Lynch, and all Members with the Prescription Drug Abuse Caucus. Prescription drug abuse is defined now as an epidemic in this country, and the cost of this epidemic is more than $70 billion a year. This is by no means just a criminal issue, and that's where the stigma sometimes makes this issue more difficult. It is, indeed, a public health issue, and for this reason Congress needs to step in. Painkillers account for the country's fastest growing area of drug abuse, which is ahead of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Throughout my 12-year career as a Norfolk County district attorney in Massachusetts, the susceptibility of new users, particularly of teenagers, to these drugs has been a recurring theme. As district attorney, I have seen in concrete terms that this scourge goes across every social and economic boundary that exists. I have seen law enforcement officials, while on duty and who were involved in automobile accidents, take these painkillers, become addicted and actually go out with their guns and rob--armed robbery-- banks and other institutions in order to just try and feed their habits. I've seen real estate professionals get involved and go to open houses just to search medicine cabinets in order to fulfill their habits.…”