Clinton targets teens in anti-drug effort

March 7, 1996
Web posted at: 2:45 p.m. EST

From Correspondent Claire Shipman

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An alarming rise in serious teen-age crimes (803K QuickTime movie) and drug use prompted President Clinton Thursday to host a conference on youth, drugs and violence.

Clinton also was to announce a $33 million drug education effort by 15 pharmaceutical companies at the meeting in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The education campaign will be conducted with the help of doctors' offices and is designed to counsel parents on the warning signs of drug use by their children.

"Drug use among eighth-graders has more than doubled since 1991 and it is on a straight trajectory upward," said Mathea Falco of Drug Strategies. (88K AIFF sound or 88K WAV sound)

Drug use almost double

Government studies show teen violence has nearly doubled in five years. At the same time, LSD use among eighth-graders has jumped from 2.7 percent to 4.4 percent; cocaine use has almost doubled to 4.2 percent; and crack use has more than doubled to 2.7 percent.

The number of eighth-graders using marijuana has leapt from 10 to 20 percent. And one in three high school seniors smokes pot.

Those numbers have caught the attention of the president and his critics, who say Clinton's policies for drug-free America have gone up in smoke.

"President Clinton has been AWOL -- absent without leadership -- on the drug issue," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Not so, say White House officials.

Clinton aides say the president has been tough on teen drug-use and violence. The White House officials point to the president's backing for tougher crime laws, while pushing Congress for more funds for drug-free school programs.

Aides point to other Clinton drug-fighting measures: The president added $250 million to the budget aimed at helping to solve drug problems, and he has restored the Office of National Drug Control Policy and expanded its 21-person staff to 150.

This month, the administration penalized six countries, including Colombia, for failing to cooperate in the U.S. war on drugs, an action that shows the president's anti-drug commitment, the aides say.

Clinton just appointed retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey as his point man on drug abuse. According to McCaffrey, if America wants to reduce drug use among teens, drug education is a must.

For this reason, McCaffrey stresses that the anti-drug budget needs to be readjusted. Currently, he says, drug enforcement and interdiction gets two-thirds of the budget, leaving just $3 per student. The reason the funding is so low is because there "isn't credibility" that education programs work, McCaffrey said. (261 AIFF sound or 261 WAV sound)

Experts say drug use by young people is on the rise, because drug education programs tapered off at the start of the decade. Public efforts such as Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" program brought the issue to the forefront, then disappeared.

"We have forgotten the very important lesson that you can never stop getting that message out, because children grow up so quickly," Falco said.

Related Story

• Marijuana use doubles among 14-, 15-year-olds

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