Youth Drug Use
Floor Speech
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, it is with great sadness and concern that I report that more and more kids are turning to drugs. Recently released annual studies that track drug use trends among youth and adults are indicating rapid increases in drug use among all age groups. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates drug use among people aged 12 and older increased by 9 percent since 2008. According to this survey, over 7 million people in the past year are estimated to have used drugs. Among these numbers, it is estimated that over 4 million people have abused marijuana, which is well over half of all drug abusers in this survey.
Even more disturbing are the rapid increases in drug use among America's youth. New figures from the Monitoring the Future Study, which is conducted by the University of Michigan and surveys school age kids' drug use from 8th grade to 12th grade, have shot up significantly. The rapid increases are due to higher use rates of marijuana among all age groups. Among the youngest surveyed, marijuana use jumped to 16 percent from 14.5 percent in the past year. Marijuana use has increased so much among high school seniors that more are now smoking marijuana than tobacco in the past 30 days. According to this survey, more than one in three high school seniors have smoked marijuana in the past year. Also troubling are the increases in the use of ecstasy, heroin, and the ongoing high abuse rates of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. On top of all this, the survey also determined that accompanying the increased drug use was a decreased perception that drugs are harmful.
In my home State of Iowa, the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy reports in their 2011 Drug Control Strategy that marijuana continues to be the most abused illegal drug in Iowa. According to this report, nearly two-thirds of all children in substance abuse treatment are there for marijuana use. It is reported that these are the highest rates of marijuana-using treatment clients in recent Iowa history. The 2008 Iowa youth survey also shows that over one in four Iowa 11th graders have used marijuana in the past year.
It is easy to read these numbers but not fully grasp the magnitude of what is happening in this country. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, states that the earlier teenagers start using marijuana the greater the risk they will have down the road. Dr. Volkow states, ``Not only does marijuana affect learning, judgment, and motor skills, but research tells us that about 1 in 6 people who start using it as adolescents become addicted.'' The more we have young people turning to drugs the more they are putting their health and futures on the line. Not only do these numbers suggest more young people are putting themselves at risk, but they also show that the future of the country is at risk. These numbers are completely unacceptable and they illustrate that we are failing our kids.
How did we get to this point? The National Survey on Drug Use and Health stated that while their findings are disappointing, they were not unexpected. The survey reported that data from the past two years have shown that young people's attitudes about drugs and their risks have been ``softening.'' This means that kids are more and more coming to the conclusion that drug use really isn't as bad as it is made out to be. The Monitoring the Future Survey also indicates that young people's perceptions on drug use, especially the harms associated with marijuana use, are rapidly moving in a negative direction. The survey states, ``Increases in youth drug use ..... are disappointing, and mixed messages about drug legalization--particularly of marijuana--may be contributing to the trend. Such messages only hinder the efforts of parents who are trying to prevent their kids from using drugs.'' Dr. Volkow also agrees that the debate over legalizing marijuana is contributing to the rising youth drug abuse rates. Dr. Volkow states, ``We should examine the extent to which the debate over medical marijuana and marijuana legalization for adults is affecting teens' perceptions of risk.''
The Obama administration also appears to agree with the above conclusions. The national drug czar, Gil Kerlikowski, who is Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy states, ``The increases in youth drug use ..... are disappointing. And mixed messages about drug legalization, particularly marijuana legalization, may be to blame. Such messages certainly don't help parents who are trying to prevent young people from using drugs.'' I could not agree more with this statement. However, I can't help but feel that this administration is contributing to the problem and not the solution.
In October 2009, the Department of Justice issued a memorandum to all U.S. attorneys regarding the prosecution of individuals who use or sell marijuana for medical purposes in states that allow it. This new policy states that U.S. attorneys should not expend resources to prosecute individuals who are complying with State laws regarding selling, possession, and use of marijuana for medical purposes. These State laws are in direct conflict with long existing Federal laws. The memorandum also states that this new policy will not alter the Department's authority to enforce Federal law.
This confusing policy attempts to have it both ways. The DOJ is telling U.S. attorneys that they should not prosecute people in States that allow medical marijuana, but the policy does not prevent them from doing so. This policy is a departure from the longstanding DOJ position to prosecute individuals who violate Federal law notwithstanding State law. This policy is ill advised, misguided, and internally inconsistent. It also sends the wrong message that this administration is deciding which laws it would prefer to enforce rather than upholding and aggressively enforcing all existing laws.
Unfortunately, the mixed messages don't stop there. Just a few weeks ago, the Judiciary Committee took up the nomination of Michelle Leonhart to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Following her hearing, I asked a pretty straight forward question, did she support efforts to decriminalize or legalize the use, production, or distribution of marijuana, for medical purposes or otherwise. I was disappointed when I received her response that simply stated, ``I support the Administration in its clear and steadfast opposition to the legalization of marijuana.'' While I agree that the administration should be ``clear and steadfast'' in opposing the legalization of marijuana, her answers did not address the issue of decriminalization. In fact, it took a follow-up letter from me to Ms. Leonhart to clarify this response where she finally stated she was ``concerned with any actions that would lead to increased use of abuse and therefore, do[es] not support decriminalizing the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana for any purpose other than legitimate research.'' While I appreciate this more detailed response, it raises questions as to why this more comprehensive answer wasn't part of her initial response to my question. It is this sort of inconsistent response to simple questions on drug use that is sending mixed messages to minors across the county regarding the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana.
We should not be getting mixed messages on marijuana use. The Obama administration should send a strong, unequivocal message to kids that marijuana use is harmful, rather than issuing inconsistent statements and new policies that endorse State efforts to legalize marijuana use in certain instances.
I have long supported a unified, and consistent antidrug message combined with grassroots community efforts to combat drug abuse in all forms. Kids need to constantly hear the message that drug use is harmful and not safe. They need to hear it from all sectors of the community whether it comes from home, school, or anywhere else. That is why I continually support local community antidrug coalitions. These coalitions are on the front lines in communities and are probably our best weapon in the fight against drug abuse. The people who comprise these coalitions care deeply about their communities and they should be supported in their efforts.
If the Obama administration truly believes that the rise in youth drug use is blamed in part on sending mixed messages about marijuana then they need to reconsider their own actions. We need to recognize the importance of sending strong and united messages about marijuana and drug use at large. We can start by being consistent with our own words and actions. Perhaps then we may be able to start to reverse the rising trends in youth drug use that have occurred since President Obama took office.
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