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REMARKS BY:  DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN      
                        SERVICES
PLACE:       Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, D.C.
DATE:        September 12, 1995

I'd like to thank ONDCP Director Lee Brown for being here today for the release of the 1994 Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

With us today are Dr. Nelba Chavez, Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and Dr. Alan Leshner, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

We are also joined by Dr. Dan Melnick, Acting Director of SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies -- who is responsible for the survey.

I want to thank Dr. Bonner, principal of Wilson, for hosting this press conference.

And I am very pleased that we are joined by a number of students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors.

We decided to hold this press conference at a school to underscore the importance of the 1994 Household Survey for the young people and families of America.

The major finding of the Survey is that while most types of illicit drug use have not increased -- and casual cocaine use continues to decline -- marijuana use among teenagers has nearly doubled since 1992.

The chart shows that monthly marijuana use among 12- to 17-year-olds at 7.3 percent, up from 4.0 percent in 1992.

The survey also shows that only 42 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds view occasional marijuana use as a "great risk" -- down from 50 percent in 1992.

There is a clear trend here, as illustrated by our second chart:

When teenagers' perception of the harm caused by marijuana goes down, marijuana use goes up.

It's that simple -- and it tells us, as a society, where we must place even greater emphasis.

Since taking office in 1993, the Clinton Administration has recognized and drawn attention to the increase in marijuana use among American teenagers.

We have challenged parents, teachers, and leaders in the public and private sectors -- including the media -- to be vigilant in the struggle against drug abuse.

And, drawing on the latest research about marijuana use and its consequences, last July we launched an initiative based on a simple premise: Every new generation of young people needs to hear clear, consistent, and early anti-drug messages from all of us.

Today, I am pleased to announce the release of some important new materials to help parents and teachers protect young Americans against drugs.

This marijuana poster -- created in collaboration with The Weekly Reader -- will be distributed during the month of October to more than 200,000 classrooms around the country -- reaching more than 5 million children, in English and Spanish.

New "Tips for Teens" on marijuana, inhalants, and alcohol abuse will soon be available through our National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.

An op-ed piece, which I wrote -- "Drugs Have No Place in a Healthy Life" -- was sent yesterday to more than 1,000 schools around the country.

A new book for parents, "Keeping Youth Drug Free," will be available in November. Included in the book is information for parents who may have experimented with marijuana themselves when they were younger and would like suggestions about how to discuss the issue with their children.

And, "Marijuana: What Can Parents Do?" -- a new 13-minute informational video for parents -- will be sent to 16,000 school districts on October 1 -- along with two brochures, which give parents and teenagers the facts about marijuana.

These materials replace all the myths with the facts.

They clearly describe the psychological and physiological harm marijuana causes -- from problems with learning, memory, perception, judgment, and complex motor skills -- skills associated with driving a car or playing sports -- to its impact on the brain, heart and lungs.

These materials encourage caring adults to show and tell young people that they do not approve of drug use.

And they send a clear message to young people: Marijuana use is illegal, dangerous, unhealthy and wrong.

That is a message that all of us must communicate over and over -- a steady drumbeat. Let me say it again to our young people who are here:

Marijuana use is illegal, dangerous, unhealthy and wrong.

The 1994 Household Survey confirms the wisdom of the Clinton Administration's comprehensive anti-drug strategy.

It also confirms the folly -- the sheer folly -- of the House Republicans' budget proposal to slash drug prevention and treatment funds and leave our children to fend for themselves in the midst of a resurgence of marijuana.

Anyone who thinks we've licked the drug problem in this country is living in a fantasy land.

This is not -- I repeat -- not the time to make draconian cuts in the anti-drug budget.

We must resist slash-and-burn proposals to cut $401 million from the HHS prevention and treatment grants, and $300 million from the Safe and Drug Free Schools program that helps some 23 million students.

Since 1991, our youth have been on a collision course, and the other party is now proposing to take away the brakes.

These cuts are a sign of hopelessness . A sign of defeatism.

The moral equivalent of surrender when what's needed is courage and commitment.

This is a time to look our young people in the eyes and say "We will not abandon you."

This is the time to draw a line in the battle against drugs.

This is the time to amplify the national conversation about drugs -- not to stick our heads in the sand and say that the problem will take care of itself.

Fortunately, this week the Senate GOP has the opportunity to restore prevention and treatment funds cut by the House GOP.

We hope they remember that drug prevention is a national priority of the very same order as clean water, good roads, and safe streets.

Now, let me tell you about several other key findings in the survey:

Underage drinking remains an enormous health problem in this country.

The Survey findings indicate that 11 million drinkers are between the ages of 12 and 20. Of those, two million are heavy drinkers -- defined by having five or more drinks five times in the month prior to the survey.

This reckless behavior dramatically increases teenagers' risk for tragedies like car crashes and violence, and it sets the stage for longterm alcohol abuse problems that can lead to liver disease and even cancer.

Also, the survey reveals that many expectant mothers are cutting back on substance abuse during pregnancy -- which is good -- only to pick up right where they left off after they've given birth.

This information offers a roadmap for future prevention efforts: it tells us that the love that an expectant mother feels for her unborn child is a powerful motivator to stop using drugs.

Now we have to make these women realize that -- after giving birth -- going back to drugs is just as dangerous to their children -- albeit in different ways -- as prenatal use.

Under the House plan, we would lose more than 15,000 drug treatment slots -- many of them for pregnant women whose children may need costly, prolonged hospitalization that can be averted with early treatment.

I consider this Survey a wake-up call for America.

It reminds us that substance abuse prevention is everybody's business.

It is the business of young people, parents, teachers, religious leaders, community leaders, and employers.

And it is the business of the federal government.

We will continue to fight for our young people -- our greatest national resource...indeed, the only national resource that really matters.

Thank you