UNITED STATES POLICY FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA BY 1995.

SEC. 5251. UNITED STATES POLICY FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA BY 1995. (a) Findings.—The Congress finds that— (1) approximately 37 million Americans used an illegal drug in the past year and more than 23 million Americans use illicit drugs at least monthly, including more than 6 million who use cocaine; (2) half of all high school seniors have used illegal drugs at least once, and over 25 percent use drugs at least monthly; (3) illicit drug use adds enormously to the national cost of health care and rehabilitation services; (4) illegal drug use can result in a wide spectrum of extremely serious health problems, including disruption of normal heart rhythm, small lesions of the heart, high blood pressure, leaks of blood vessels in the brain, bleeding and destruction of brain cells, permanent memory loss, infertility, impotency, immune system impairment, kidney failure, and pulmonary damage, and in the most serious instances, heart attack, stroke, and sudden death; (5) approximately 25 percent of all victims of AIDS acquired the disease through intravenous drug use; (6) over 30,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms in 1986 with drug-related health problems, including nearly 10,000 for cocaine alone; (7) there is a strong link between teenage suicide and use of illegal drugs; (8) 10 to 15 percent of all highway fatalities involve drug use; (9) illegal drug use is prevalent in the workplace and endangers fellow workers, national security, public safety, company morale, and production; (10) it is estimated that 1 of every 10 American workers have their productivity impaired by substance abuse; (11) it is estimated that drug users are 3 times as likely to be involved in on-the-job accidents, are absent from work twice as often, and incur 3 times the average level of sickness costs as non-users; (12) the total cost to the economy of drug use is estimated to be over $100,000,000,000 annually; (13) the connection between drugs and crime is also well-proven; 102 STAT. 4310 (14) the use of illicit drugs affects moods and emotions, chemically alters the brain, and causes loss of control, paranoia, reduction of inhibition, and unprovoked anger; (15) drug-related homicides are increasing dramatically across the Nation; (16) 8 of 10 men arrested for serious crimes in New York City test positive for cocaine use; (17) illicit drug use is responsible for a substantially higher tax rate to pay for local law enforcement protection, interdiction, border control, and the cost of investigation, prosecution, confinement, and treatment; (18) substantial increases in funding and resources have been made available in recent years to combat the drug problem, with spending for interdiction, law enforcement, and prevention programs up by 100 to 400 percent and these programs are producing results— (A) seizures of cocaine are up from 1.7 tons in 1981 to 70 tons in 1987; (B) seizures of heroin are up from 460 pounds in 1981 to 1,400 pounds in 1987; (C) Drug Enforcement Administration drug convictions doubled between 1982 and 1986; and (D) the average sentence for Federal cocaine convictions rose by 35 percent during this same period; (19) despite the impressive rise in law enforcement efforts, the supply of illegal drugs has increased in recent years; (20) the demand for drugs creates and sustains the illegal drug trade; and (21) winning the drug war not only requires that we do more to limit supply, but that we focus our efforts to reduce demand. (b) Declaration.—It is the declared policy of the United States Government to create a Drug-Free America by 1995.