US Presidency
1989

( Signed I received word that our son was addicted to cocaine. He had the world at his feet. Bright, gifted, personable, he could have done anything with his life. And now he has chosen cocaine. And please, she wrote, find a way to curb the supply of cocaine. Get tough with the pushers. Our son needs your help. My friends, that voice crying out for help could be the voice of your own neighbor, your own friend, your own son. Over 23 million Americans used illegal drugs last year, at a staggering cost to our nation's well being. Let this be recorded as the time when America rose up and said no to drugs. The scourge of drugs must be stopped. And I am asking tonight for an increase of almost a billion dollars in budget outlays to escalate the war against drugs. The war must be waged on all fronts. Our new drug czar, Bill Bennett, and I will be shoulder to shoulder in the executive branch leading the charge.