Supporting the Goals of Red Ribbon Week
SUPPORTING THE GOALS OF RED RIBBON WEEK -- (House of Representatives - October 25, 2005)
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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 485, a resolution supporting the goals of Red Ribbon Week, October 23 through October 31, 2005.
As mentioned, the original and most fundamental purpose of Red Ribbon Week is to honor the memory of Enrique ``Kiki'' Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who was brutally murdered by drug traffickers in 1985.
Now in its 20th year, Red Ribbon Week has grown into a national campaign to promote drug-free communities by raising awareness, particularly among our children, of the perils of drug use. During this week, communities, school and home-based programs will convey important drug use information to millions of our fellow citizens, particularly the most vulnerable among our children.
I regularly participate in one of those celebrations in my own district and appreciate the educational aspect of Red Ribbon Week. It aims to prevent drug use. Red Ribbon Week is a useful part of what we all acknowledge is a constant challenge in young lives.
Notwithstanding the many laudable aspects of Red Ribbon Week, it is clear that we still have a lot of work to do. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health tells us that almost 8 percent of the population over the age of 12 are current users of illicit drugs. Current use of illicit drugs is even more prevalent among teens, almost 11 percent. While marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, methamphetamine use is spreading across the country at alarming rates.
The NSDUH report also notes significant use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and legal drugs such as pain relievers and tranquilizers. Again, young people in their late teens and early twenties have use rates in each of these areas that are significantly higher than the overall average.
We need to bolster our efforts aimed at prevention and do more to return our citizens to normal productive lives when their lives have been overtaken by drug abuse. And we should steer our policies and resources away from the overly militaristic and supply-side strategies of recent years. They do not work, and the money would be better spent on proven, effective ways to combat drugs and drug use.
While resolutions such as this are nice, and, in fact, they are important, they do not provide the additional resources necessary to provide prevention and treatment services for all who need them. Nonetheless, Mr. Speaker, I would urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 485, supporting the goals of Red Ribbon Week.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).
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