Pete Sessions: “I am glad to be here today because the problem of drugs in our country is dire and urgent. There is a moral crisis in…”

“I am glad to be here today because the problem of drugs in our country is dire and urgent. There is a moral crisis in America. I want to use some of the data published in a report by the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs and Criminal Justice to illustrate just how bad this moral crisis is. The report entitled, National Drug Policy: A Review of the Status of the Drug War, details the startling use and rise of drug use among Americans, all Americans, but most especially those that are young Americans. According to the 1994 Michigan University study, 13 percent of eighth graders experimented with marijuana in 1993. That is almost twice the 1991 level. Experimentation among 10th graders increased about two-thirds the previous 3 years. And daily use among high school seniors was up by half over the 1993 levels. Increasing use was also reported in 1994, by the Drug Abuse Warning Network Data, which collected data from emergency rooms around the country on drug-related emergencies in 1993. That data showed an 8 percent increase in drug-related emergency room cases between 1992 and 1993, 45 percent of which were heroin overdoses. Cocaine was also at an alltime high, having almost doubled since 1988, and marijuana emergencies increased 22 percent between 1992 and 1993.”