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Cornyn Highlights His Measure To Combat "Cheese" Heroin In Dallas

Meets with leaders of Phoenix House, area law enforcement officials to discuss local efforts to fight teen drug use

DALLAS—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn visited the Phoenix House in Dallas on Friday to highlight an amendment he recently introduced to crack down on “cheese” heroin and bolster local efforts to fight teen drug use. Sen. Cornyn met with leaders of the drug treatment center and local law enforcement officials.

“We must work now to crack down on this lethal drug before it spreads further and destroys the lives of more young people,” Sen. Cornyn said. “Raising awareness of the dangers of ‘cheese’ heroin is critical in the effort to stamp it out. It’s important that law enforcement officials, school leaders and private organizations collaborate to curb this growing problem. I’ll continue pushing for passage of my provision in Congress and other solutions on the federal level.”

Sen. Cornyn recently introduced an amendment to the Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007, S. 456, combating “cheese” heroin, a mixture of black tar heroin and diphenhydramine, an antihistamine. This lethal drug has caused addiction and death among a growing number of Texas youths.

His measure would make cheese heroin part of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which would raise awareness and help fight the drug on a local level throughout Texas. In June, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the anti-gang bill, which included Sen. Cornyn’s amendment, and advanced it to the full Senate for consideration.

On hand for the discussion at the Phoenix House were Dallas Deputy Police Chief Julian Bernal, Phoenix House Vice President and Regional Director Monty Mueller, and Director of Dallas Phoenix Academy Michelle Hemm.

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is a public awareness program carried out by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the White House. The initiative prevents drug abuse among young people in the United States through public awareness efforts. Current law directs the campaign to target marijuana and methamphetamines.

The anti-drug campaign focuses on young people ages 9-18, their parents and other adults who influence the choices young people make. It uses a mix of modern communications techniques to educate and empower young people to reject illicit drugs. The program also teams up with civic and non-profit organizations, faith-based groups, and private corporations to enlist people in prevention efforts at school, work and play.

The Phoenix House works with more than 10,000 Texas youths each year through treatment and school-based prevention programs. In Texas, the Phoenix House has been providing substance abuse services since 1995 and currently operates programs in Dallas, Austin and the Houston/Galveston Bay area. Among these are two Phoenix Academies for teens in Austin and Dallas—residential high schools that provide comprehensive drug and alcohol abuse treatment to adolescents while helping them catch up academically.

The Dallas Phoenix House Academy saw a 416 percent increase in heroin contacts (43 to 179), mostly cheese heroin, in comparing nine month periods from year-to-year, and a 654 percent increase in youth served for heroin addiction (13 to 85).

Also on Friday, Sen. Cornyn addressed a luncheon with members of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce. He provided a legislative update on various topics, including border security and immigration reform, the war on terror, transportation and health care.

“It’s no accident that since the Republican-led Congress passed comprehensive tax relief, the unemployment rate in Texas has fallen to 4.1 percent, the lowest in over 30 years,” Sen. Cornyn said. “In the past two years, Texas has enjoyed its most rapid economic growth in nearly a decade, expanding faster than the rest of the nation. The key now is for Congress to make the tax relief permanent so small businesses in Oak Cliff and across Texas will remain the lifeblood of our growing economy.”

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee.

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