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Always Ready |
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by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings |
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No family is immune to the utter devastation that addictive drugs are inflicting upon neighbors we know and love. We cannot ignore a menace, global in scope, that is destroying lives in every American community.
To refuse to face this threat would be suicidal. This is why the effective, and often heroic, drug interdiction efforts of the United States Coast Guard have earned this nation’s gratitude and respect.
Recently, I invited Vice Admiral Robert Papp, the Coast Guard’s Chief of Staff, to a press conference where we announced the record level of cocaine interdictions achieved this year.
During 2007 alone, the Coast Guard removed nearly 356,000 pounds of cocaine from circulation.
The estimated street value of these deadly drugs was $4.7 billion. The value of the lives protected by their elimination is inestimable.
Although many Americans may remain unaware of the Coast Guard’s work for us along America’s 95,000 miles of coastline, I oversee these efforts on a regular basis. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation (and through my work as Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy), I know that the new interdiction record is a stunning testament to the effectiveness of the Coast Guard’s 41,000 women and men.
Those who patrol our nation’s shores and gather intelligence from around the world deserve our commendation for their service to our nation. Plainly stated, every ounce of cocaine seized at sea is an ounce that cannot reach our nation’s streets.
Sadly, of course, every ounce that does reach our communities threatens lives.
Experts tell us that 60,000 of Baltimore City’s 650,000 residents are drug dependent. The most abused narcotics are heroin and cocaine, and the consequences of this drug plague are heart-breaking.
Yet in Baltimore, as in the engagements by our Coast Guard at sea, there are grounds for hope.
Consider this.
In 1996, Baltimore had the highest rate of drug‑related emergency room visits in the nation. HIV/AIDS had become the leading cause of death among Black men, as well as the second‑leading cause of death among Black women.
However, by 2006, the Washington Post could accurately report that the number of drug‑overdose deaths in Baltimore had fallen to the lowest level in 10 years.
Lives are being saved by the on‑going drug interdiction efforts at all levels of government. Cocaine seizures by the Baltimore City Police Department increased by 38 percent this year.
The 6,856 felony drug arrests by our police remind us, however, that we cannot eliminate the human cost of the drug plague by good police work alone.
We cannot eradicate this problem simply by locking away drug dealers and users – or only by targeting suppliers.
Equally important is our continued determination to make drug treatment readily available to all those who need it. That is why it is so critical that funding for drug treatment in our City nearly tripled during the last decade – from $18 million in 1996 to $53 million last year.
As a result, during 2005 alone, 23,000 of our Baltimore neighbors were able to received treatment in publicly funded clinics.
These are promising developments. Yet no reasonable person could conclude that our neighborhoods and families are out of danger.
The threats posed by illegal drugs remain all too real.
Much work remains to be done if we are to reduce the drug abuse in our communities and break the generational cycles of addiction that now threaten our children. Winning that fight must continue to be one of our highest priorities.
We must continue to support those who defend our shores and our cities, even as we seek to heal those who have lost their freedom to addiction. We must remain willing to respond to the drug threat on all fronts – including prevention and treatment, as well as supply reduction and law enforcement.
We are fighting our own home-grown war against narco-terrorism, both in Baltimore and across America. Our success in this struggle will require the active engagement of us all.
Like the brave men and women of the United States Coast Guard, we must recommit ourselves to the motto: Semper Paratus. We must remain “always ready” to protect those we hold dear.
We all live on the front lines of this struggle. Our children’s futures will depend upon the wisdom and determination that we bring to the fight.
- The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives. |
