CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE
105th Congress (1998)

NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY (2/19/98)

President Clinton recently released the annual National Drug Control Strategy. The Strategy's goals include:

  • reducing educating and enabling America's
    youth to reject illegal drugs as well as
    alcohol and tobacco,

  • increasing the safety of America's citizens
    by substantially reducing drug-related crime
    and violence; and,

  • reducing health and social costs to the
    public of illegal drug use.

    BACKGROUND
    NCADD and other national, state and local groups have historically offered advice and recommendations to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on the development of the Strategy. Our concerns have been that it should include more prevention and treatment programs.

    This year, the Strategy recommends, among other things, an increase of $200 million dollars to the Substance Abuse Block Grant to help provide more treatment, it asks for $195 million to continue the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and $50 million for a new School Drug Prevention Coordinators Initiative (which would provide prevention professionals to 6,500 schools nation wide).

    Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has been quoted as saying the document is dead on arrival on Capitol Hill.

    The Strategy can be accessed on the internet at www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.

    WHAT YOU CAN DO
    Write to the members of Congress listed below to support the key elements of the Strategy. See the sample letters below.

    The mailing address is:
    The Honorable --
    US House of Representatives
    Washington, DC 20515

    Or e-mail your Representative at: The U. S. House of Representatives.

      The Honorable Newt Gingrich
      Speaker of the House of Representatives
      U.S. House of Representatives
      Washington, D.C. 20515


      Dear Speaker Gingrich:

      On behalf of (name of Affiliate), I urge you to support the president's 1998 National Drug Control Strategy. The ten-year strategy to reduce drug use and its consequences by one-half is a comprehensive document that provides prevention and treatment services that are vital to decreasing drug use.

      Educating young people about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs and enabling them to reject their use is the first goal of the strategy. The plan includes funding for school drug prevention coordinators, community-based anti-drug coalitions across the nation and a national anti-drug media campaign. It also increases funding for the Substance Abuse Block Grant to help provide more treatment for those who need it.

      The 1998 Strategy builds on the plan that has been developed over the last two years and has widespread support from professionals in substance abuse, law enforcement, international drug interdiction and many other fields. I hope you will support this strategy because of its comprehensive and long-term commitment to eliminating drug use.

      Thank you for your time and consideration.

      Sincerely,



      The Honorable Rob Portman
      U.S. House of Representatives
      Washington, D.C. 20515


      Dear Representative Portman:

      On behalf of (name of Affiliate), I urge you to support the president's 1998 National Drug Control Strategy. The ten-year strategy to reduce drug use and its consequences by one-half is a comprehensive document that provides prevention and treatment services that are vital to decreasing drug use.

      Educating young people about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs and enabling them to reject their use is the first goal of the strategy. The plan includes funding for school drug prevention coordinators, community-based anti-drug coalitions across the nation and a national anti-drug media campaign. It also increases funding for the Substance Abuse Block Grant to help provide more treatment for those who need it.

      The 1998 Strategy builds on the plan that has been developed over the last two years and has widespread support from professionals in substance abuse, law enforcement, international drug interdiction and many other fields. I hope you will support this strategy because of its comprehensive and long-term commitment to eliminating drug use.

      Thank you for your time and consideration.

      Sincerely,



      The Honorable Dennis Hastert
      U.S. House of Representatives
      Washington, D.C. 20515


      Dear Representative Hastert:

      On behalf of (name of Affiliate), I urge you to support the president's 1998 National Drug Control Strategy. The ten-year strategy to reduce drug use and its consequences by one-half is a comprehensive document that provides prevention and treatment services that are vital to decreasing drug use.

      Educating young people about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs and enabling them to reject their use is the first goal of the strategy. The plan includes funding for school drug prevention coordinators, community-based anti-drug coalitions across the nation and a national anti-drug media campaign. It also increases funding for the Substance Abuse Block Grant to help provide more treatment for those who need it.

      The 1998 Strategy builds on the plan that has been developed over the last two years and has widespread support from professionals in substance abuse, law enforcement, international drug interdiction and many other fields. I hope you will support this strategy because of its comprehensive and long-term commitment to eliminating drug use.

      Thank you for your time and consideration.

      Sincerely,


    For more information on this issue, contact the Public Policy Office via e-mail at publicpolicy@ncadd.org.