Senator Dole''s Radio Address

Hello, I'm Bob Dole. It has now been eleven days since the Clinton Administration released the results of a national survey on teen age drug use. The news could not have been much worse: Since President Clinton took office, drug use among 12 to 17 year olds has more than doubled--skyrocketing by 105%. Marijuana use has increased by 141%. LSD use has increased by 193%. And monthly use of cocaine by teenagers has increased by an appalling 166% in just the last year alone.

It is impossible to took at these staggering numbers and say that we are on the right track in the war against drugs. But that is just what the Clinton Administration has done. In fact, the day the survey was released, the White House Press Secretary said, and I quote, 'There is no need for a new proposal.' End of quote.

I emphatically disagree. I believe there is every need for new proposals and new leadership in the war on drugs.

The fact is that when President Clinton took office, we were winning the war on drugs. Thanks to the leadership of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, drug use was decreasing year after year, as a clear and unmistakable message was being sent to our children: A message that drugs are wrong. A message that drugs kill. A message that those who deal in drugs will be punished.

Unfortunately, from its very first days in office, the Clinton Administration — through neglect and ineptitude — has sent a very different message. A message that drugs are no big deal. Yes, President Clinton spoke about the drug epidemic in his acceptance speech. But one day of rhetoric in August of 1996 does not make up for the following actions taken during the past four years:

At a time when many businesses were trying to create drug-free workplaces, the Clinton Administration hired individuals whose drug use was so extensive or so recent that the United States Secret Service recommended denying them access to the White House. The Clinton Administration rejected the Secret Service's recommendations.