Jim Ramstad: “nearly 26 million Americans are presently suffering from the ravages of drug and alcohol addiction. There is an epidemic…”

“nearly 26 million Americans are presently suffering from the ravages of drug and alcohol addiction. There is an epidemic in America, a national crisis of alcohol and drug addiction. One in 10 people in the United States of America is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. The statistics, Mr. Speaker, are absolutely shocking. Alcoholism and drug addiction cost this country $90 billion last year, in addition to even greater human costs: the shattered dreams; the tragic deaths; the violent crime; broken families; shattered, broken lives. Alcohol abuse alone last year killed 100,000 people in this country. A recent study by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that 80 percent of American prisoners, 80 percent of the 1.2 million Americans locked up today, are there because of drugs or alcohol. Mr. Speaker, as a recovering alcoholic myself, I know firsthand the value of treatment for chemical addiction. Mr. Speaker, I am here to speak from personal experience that treatment works.”