U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

74–706 DTP WASHINGTON : 2001

METHAMPHETAMINE AND DATE RAPE DRUGS: A

NEW GENERATION OF KILLERS

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE,

DRUG POLICY, AND HUMAN RESOURCES

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

GOVERNMENT REFORM

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

SEPTEMBER 18, 2000

Serial No. 106–264

Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house

http://www.house.gov/reform

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250

Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001

(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM

DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York

CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland

CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York

STEPHEN HORN, California

JOHN L. MICA, Florida

THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia

DAVID M. MCINTOSH, Indiana

MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana

JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida

STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio

MARSHALL ‘‘MARK’’ SANFORD, South

Carolina

BOB BARR, Georgia

DAN MILLER, Florida

ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas

LEE TERRY, Nebraska

JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois

GREG WALDEN, Oregon

DOUG OSE, California

PAUL RYAN, Wisconsin

HELEN CHENOWETH-HAGE, Idaho

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana

HENRY A. WAXMAN, California

TOM LANTOS, California

ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia

MAJOR R. OWENS, New York

EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York

PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania

PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington,

DC

CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland

DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio

ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois

DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois

JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts

JIM TURNER, Texas

THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine

HAROLD E. FORD, JR., Tennessee

JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois

———

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont

(Independent)

KEVIN BINGER, Staff Director

DANIEL R. MOLL, Deputy Staff Director

JAMES C. WILSON, Chief Counsel

ROBERT A. BRIGGS, Clerk

PHIL SCHILIRO, Minority Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, DRUG POLICY, AND HUMAN RESOURCES

JOHN L. MICA, Florida, Chairman

BOB BARR, Georgia

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York

CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana

STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio

ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas

DOUG OSE, California

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana

PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii

EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland

DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio

ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois

JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts

JIM TURNER, Texas

JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois

EX OFFICIO

DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California

SHARON PINKERTON, Staff Director and Chief Counsel

RYAN MCKEE, Clerk

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C O N T E N T S

Page

Hearing held on September 18, 2000 ..................................................................... 1

Statement of:

Massell, Sam, president, Buckhead Coalition, Atlanta, GA; Liz Flowers,

Southern Regional Sexual Assault Coalition; and Ned Harman, Family

Victim ............................................................................................................. 10

Saliba, Jason, Assistant District Attorney, Cobb County, GA; Paul Howard, District Attorney, Fulton County, GA; John Andrejko, Special

Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration; and Robert

Gattison, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta, U.S. Customs Service ......... 42

Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:

Andrejko, John, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, prepared statement of .......................................................................... 63

Flowers, Liz, Southern Regional Sexual Assault Coalition, prepared statement of ........................................................................................................... 17

Gattison, Robert, Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta, U.S. Customs Service, prepared statement of ............................................................................ 79

Harman, Ned, Family Victim, prepared statement of ................................... 26

Howard, Paul, District Attorney, Fulton County, GA, prepared statement

of ..................................................................................................................... 57

Massell, Sam, president, Buckhead Coalition, Atlanta, GA, prepared

statement of ................................................................................................... 12

Mica, Hon. John L., a Representative in Congress from the State of

Florida, prepared statement of .................................................................... 5

Saliba, Jason, Assistant District Attorney, Cobb County, GA, prepared

statement of ................................................................................................... 44

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METHAMPHETAMINE AND DATE RAPE

DRUGS: A NEW GENERATION OF KILLERS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2000

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, DRUG POLICY, AND HUMAN RESOURCES, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM, Atlanta, GA.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9 a.m., in the Atlanta International School, Atlanta, GA, Hon. John L. Mica (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Mica and Barr.

Staff present: Sharon Pinkerton, staff director and chief counsel;

and Ryan McKee, clerk.

Mr. MICA. I would like to call the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources to order. This

morning, we are conducting a field hearing in Atlanta, Ga. The

order of business will be as follows: I will start the proceedings

today with an opening statement, yield to other Members for opening statements.

We have two panels today and they will be recognized accordingly. The title of today’s hearing is ‘‘Methamphetamine and Date

Rape Drugs, A New Generation of Killers.’’ And this hearing is a

part of a series of national field hearings that our subcommittee

has conducted throughout the United States in an effort to get a

handle on what is happening with illegal narcotics and drug abuse

and narcotics trafficking in the United States.

It is my pleasure to be here in the State of Georgia, which is the

closest neighbor to my home State and my district, which is neighboring on the south. I did not bring—well, I guess I did bring a little of this weather in the plane last night, but it is on its way

away, fortunately. But it is good to be here. And also be here to

discuss one of the most pressing and serious issues that faces our

Nation and that is the problem of serious drug threats that we

have, not only in Atlanta, but from one end of the country to the

other.

As chairman of the House Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and

Human Resources Subcommittee, I have traveled across the country to examine the epidemic that we now face in so many of our

communities. I am pleased to be here this morning at the request

of Congressman Bob Barr. Mr. Barr has served as vice chairman

of the panel, he has had this responsibility for about 18 months in

tackling, again, a most difficult problem facing our Nation and

communities. And I appreciate his leadership.

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I want to apologize, we have done a series of hearings and since

he is vice chairman and part of the leadership of the subcommittee,

his community unfortunately is the last to have this hearing, so I

appreciate both his patience and understanding. And also his commitment to working to find viable solutions to the problem we face.

We would not be here, again, without his leadership or where we

are in the progress that we have made in Washington.

At today’s hearing, we will take a close look at the continuing

drug crisis, and its impact both in Georgia and Atlanta and this

region. Has the explosion of so-called club drugs hit Atlanta, impacted Atlanta and its neighbors, or is it sneaking into your community unnoticed and, as they say, under the radar? Either way,

I urge everyone in this community to identify and prevent this

scourge.

As we will hear today, dangers to the communities and our loved

ones are very real. Club drugs, which also go by the names, the

common names we have heard of, such as Ecstasy, Special-K,

Meth, GHB and roofies increasingly are the illegal drugs of choice

for our young people, particularly at all-night dance parties which

are referred to as raves. Club drugs include a wide variety of illegal

narcotics, sometimes coupled with abuse of prescribed drugs. Some

are stimulants, some are depressants and some are hallucinogenic.

They all are dangerous and can be serious and have immediate and

permanent health consequences. And as we have noted, unfortunately many times, result even in death.

In many respects, club drugs can be just as bad or worse than

crack cocaine, even though many youth seem to think or are convinced otherwise. The drugs are cheap, readily available, and often

considered by users to be recreational and non-dangerous. And that

is probably most dangerous.

Some users are able to continue to function in their work and social activities, at least for a while. Because of this perceived low

risk and delays that may occur before experiencing noticeable

harms, club drugs have become a representation of really an insidious national threat.

According to Dr. Alan Leshner, who has appeared before our subcommittee on several occasions—he is also the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, also referred to as NIDA. Dr.

Leshner is quoted as follows: ‘‘Young adults believe club drugs can

harmlessly enhance their experience at dance parties and raves,

but there is no safe way to use any of these drugs. There is no such

thing as harmless club drugs, and no such thing as recreational

drug use.’’ He is one of our foremost experts, and that is his opinion.

This concern is receiving increased Federal attention. NIDA has

increased funding for club drug research by 40 percent to $54 million. NIDA also created a Web site, www.clubdrugs.org, to educate

the public. Still more efforts are needed at all levels, local, State

and Federal.

One club drug that deserves close attention, and our subcommittee has been reviewing the incredibly growing problem, that is Ecstasy. Ecstasy is also known as MDMA or the hug drug. It is very

popular with some teenagers. Some take Ecstasy for its quick high,

enticing the user to dance or engage in activities all night. It

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speeds up a person’s heart rate and body temperature. These characteristics, along with impaired judgment, make for a very dangerous situation at these all-night dance clubs.

According to NIDA, Ecstasy poses long-term, adverse physical

risk. Brain imaging studies at Johns Hopkins University show that

Ecstasy can damage the brain cells that produce body chemical serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for memory and thought process.

We do not know, in fact, that these brain cells regenerate. In fact,

some of the information that we have received show that there is,

in fact, permanent damage. Consequently, Ecstasy may be causing

long-term memory loss in thousands of American young people,

without these young people having any idea of the damage that is

being done to them.

A survey of high school students indicates that Ecstasy use has

increased 55 percent just from 1998 to 1999. It is estimated that

8 percent of high school seniors have used Ecstasy at least once,

a figure that is up 2 percent from 1 year ago. GHB, or G, or

Rohypnol or roofies are illegal drugs notorious for their use in date

rapes and other crimes. These drugs are odorless, colorless and

tasteless. They can be slipped unnoticed into a drink. These dangerous drugs sedate users, rendering them defenseless. They vary

in purity and potency. Overdoses are actually very common today.

Dozens of deaths have been reported.

Methamphetamine, also known as meth, speed, crystal, ice or

crank, is a very highly addictive stimulant. Meth, we are also experiencing incredible national explosion with, and meth can cause

anxiety, paranoia and cardiovascular problems. Unfortunately, it

can be mixed at home, the recipe can be found on the Internet, and

unfortunately the ingredients are highly volatile, as we have seen.

There have been numerous reports of lab explosions in home basements and garage production facilities.

For many users, club drugs are considered cheap. For example, an Ecstasy pill can cost about $20. Some pushers simply give them

away to lure their victims into drug abuse and addiction. Young

users often mix club drugs with other drugs like LSD, PCP or heroin. This can lead to incredibly tragic results. Most young users do

not realize how harmful club drugs or mixtures can be.

Research findings indicate that misperceptions of risk by young

people are strong predictors of drug abuse. We need to make the

message very clear in all of our communities, club drugs are deadly, and our young people should be warned, and others, adults, to

stay away from them.

The amount of Ecstasy entering the United States is increasing

at a phenomenal rate. In fiscal year 1998, the U.S. Customs Service seized an estimated 750,000 doses. Last year that quadrupled

to 3 million doses. In the first 5 months of the year 2000, the U.S.

Customs Service seized over 4 million doses.

Club drugs continue to be available from multiple sources, not

just local dance clubs. Teenagers can now order them online. In

just a few minutes, we will hear testimony, and we will also see

how teenagers can order these drugs online and how they have

ready access to these drugs throughout our communities.

In just a few minutes, a teenager can locate a Web site that will

ship club drugs directly to his or her house or post office box. The

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subcommittee has also conducted hearings in Washington on the

problem we have of distribution of these narcotics, through legal,

even U.S. Postal packaging service.

Our subcommittee also has conducted dozens of hearings on topics of drug control and illegal drug use. Many of them are field

hearings like this one. We are continuing to examine drug policies

and programs at the Federal level, the State level and the local

level. Drug abuse has now taken a toll of more than 16,000 American lives in 1 year, and the cost to society is more than $110 billion annually. In fact, our subcommittee reviewed the most recent

statistics on drug-related deaths, which revealed a horrifying fact,

and we are going to announce some of these figures tomorrow in

Washington.

In 1998, related deaths to drug abuse, drug overdose deaths,

were 16,925. The first time in the history of our Nation, they exceeded homicides which, for the same year, were 16,914. This unfortunately is an ongoing and growing tragedy in America which

must be stopped.

I know that our vice chairman and my colleague, Mr. Barr, and

I share a strong commitment to doing everything we can to assist

our local communities, State, our enforcement, prevention, education efforts. We want to listen today about the local problems, the

local successes, and find out what works best, and what we can do

in a cooperative effort with these officials to find answers to serious

problems that we are facing. And I always say that all the answers

are not found in Washington, they are found through individuals

throughout America who have good ideas, good approaches and recommendations that we can incorporate into our Federal agenda.

I want to thank all of our witnesses today for their participation,

for their willingness to share their ideas and their experience. And

again, I am most grateful to our vice chairman of our subcommittee

for his leadership on this issue, and invitation to be in Atlanta

today.

And with those opening comments, I am pleased to yield to the

gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Barr.

[The prepared statement of Hon. John L. Mica follows:]

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Mr. BARR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome back to Georgia. This is the second visit by Chairman Mica and this subcommittee to the Atlanta area during this 106th Congress, but it is by far

not the second trip that the chairman has made on behalf of the

subcommittee. I do not know what the percentage is, Mr. Chairman, but I know it is a very substantial percentage of the hearings

that Mr. Mica has held on matters that are within the jurisdiction

of this subcommittee outside of Washington.

While that may not be unique, other subcommittees and committees hold field hearings in other parts of the country, I think the

frequency with which Mr. Mica conducts these hearings outside of

the Washington, DC, area is unique. And it is a tribute to his understanding of the problems that are faced by this subcommittee

and by Washington, and also reflects his understanding that, in

order to develop solutions to these problems, you need to do more

than sit inside the beltway and discuss theories and policies. You

need to be out in the community listening to the men and women

who deal with these problems day in and day out, who are affected

most deeply by them. They cannot always come waltzing up to

Washington and testify up there before the bright lights and the

beautiful committee rooms. They are working men and women,

they have families, they cannot just pick up and leave. And Mr.

Mica has recognized that, and that is why we hold many hearings

all across the country.

About a little over a year ago, Mr. Mica joined us in Smyrna for

a hearing looking at another aspect of the work of this subcommittee, and it had to do with immigration policies and illegal immigrants in our communities. Today we are here in this beautiful facility, the Atlanta International School, and I would like, certainly

on behalf of the chairman and the rest of the subcommittee, extend

our thanks to the staff of the school here for making this beautiful

facility available for this hearing today.

Another hallmark of the Mica subcommittee that brings us this

hearing today is the fact that his panels are consistently very

broad, very objective and very deep in terms of the depth of experience and the type of experience that the witnesses bring to bear

to the subcommittee. He does not always go back to the same well

and bring the same people, the same type people in over and over

and over again. He recognizes that the problems that this subcommittee faces manifest themselves in many different ways and

change constantly over time. And the chairman reacts to that by

bringing in different witnesses from different backgrounds reflecting the many-headed nature of the drug problem in particular

today.

And the two panels that the chairman and the outstanding staff,

with our counsel, Sharon Pinkerton and Mr. Gil Macklin who is

here, down here accompanying the chairman as well, attest to their

understanding of the issue. We have two very distinguished panels,

and Mr. Chairman, I know you are going to introduce them but let

me just say that it is an honor to be with them. We appreciate—

I appreciate, and I know you do as well, the sacrifices they make

day in and day out addressing this problem in so many different

ways. And we certainly appreciate their taking some time from

those very, very important activities to be here with us today to

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share their perspective on the problem that we face with regard to

these types of drugs in particular, and to help us develop better solutions to address them.

The problem of so-called club drugs is apparent in the very name

that is given to them. They are disguised by very benign sounding

words such as club drugs, designer drugs. That was a term that

was coming into vogue when I served as U.S. attorney here in Atlanta back in the late 1980’s. And the names that are given to

these killer substances belie their effects. And the way they are

packaged belies their effects.

The drug Ecstasy, for example, the chemical name is so long and

so convoluted, I cannot even pronounce it. The chemical name for

Ecstasy, just as one of these drugs, is 3,4-M-e-f-y-l-e-n-e-d-i-o-x-ym-e-t-h-a-m-p-h-e-t-a-m-i-n-e. It is very difficult to say. So those

that traffic in these drugs, those that deal them to our kids, those

that cause the death of our kids package them in very different

ways. They come up with pills in bright colors with benign symbols

on them, symbols that are recognizable to kids that have nothing

to do with drugs. Commercial symbols that they steal.

I know that, in particular, Ecstasy sometimes, they will get these

bright-colored pills with commercial logos on them, such as the

Mitsubishi symbol, the Rolex watch symbol, cartoon characters

such as the Pink Panther and all sorts of other things designed

very clearly not to convey to the young person, or whoever it is that

is taking it that this is death. It does not have a picture of the

Grim Reaper on it, but it might as well.

But of course, those who deal in these substances know that, if

the truth were known, that they would be out of business, so they

disguise the truth. They package these drugs in very benign format

and do not tell the kids the lasting damage or the immediate threat

that they face by taking these drugs.

Yet they are used with increasing frequency. In this very area,

we have—one of the guests that we have, one of the witnesses we

have today is former mayor of Atlanta, Sam Massell, who has been

very active for many years in this very community, in the community of Buckhead, and he is very well versed in the particular problems involving these type of drugs and other drugs that are used

with frequency in the so-called night club scene and youth dance

halls and so forth. And he knows, as all of our panelists do today,

as well as you, Mr. Chairman, that club drugs are not club drugs,

they are death. Designer drugs are not designer drugs, they are

death.

And the men and women that are here today, unlike many in

Washington, understand that these are a threat and that we need

to take action. And that we need to be out there aggressively fighting this scourge. And they are doing so. The men and women that

you have brought here today, Mr. Chairman, the parents, the community leaders, those involved in rehabilitation efforts, the law enforcement and prosecution folks from the Federal and our local government levels illustrate also very aptly the nature of addressing

this threat. It has to be a team effort. It does not affect us just at

one level of government, it does not affect just one household or one

community. It affects all of us. And bringing to bear the combined

wisdom of these and so many other folks whose time did not permit

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them to be here today, I think, Mr. Chairman, will help us much

more than some study inside the beltway up in Washington talking

about great theories of drugs.

So I appreciate very much your work in bringing us here today,

your continued commitment to addressing in a very real sense

these problems such as methamphetamine and other drugs. I appreciate very much the work of the subcommittee staff in pulling

together these very distinguished panels, and the facilities that enable us to be here today. It is an honor to be here and to welcome

you once again to the Atlanta area, Mr. Chairman, for a very worthy cause. And again, I appreciate very much the witnesses that

we will be hearing from today. And I would ask unanimous consent

to include a more complete statement in the record.

Mr. MICA. Without objection, the additional complete statement

will be added to the record. Mr. Barr also moves that the record

be open for a period of 2 weeks for additional statements from

Members and we also invite the public or other interested parties

to submit through the Chair or Mr. Barr additional comments or

statements to be included in the record. Without objection, it is so

ordered.

It is good to be back, Mr. Barr. I do not know if I told you that,

maybe the first time I came to Atlanta—I was thinking about it

last night when I flew in to the airport here—it was with my father. It was about 41 years ago. I think it was about 1959. I participated in a debate tournament at Emory University. When we

arrived at the airport, it was a small sort of a shed-type airport

with wood benches. I remember very distinctly. We were one of the

few people in the terminal.

And as I drove through Atlanta last night, I thought, who would

have ever thought that it would be one of the most phenomenal cities, not only in the country, but in the world, and through some

of your leadership and community leadership we see represented

here, it truly is. And it now faces, like many other great communities, a serious challenge, and that is illegal narcotics which is

tearing up families and communities and causing destruction and

death. So I am pleased to be here and join you again in this community to address some of these problems.

With those comments, I also want to state that we are a subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Reform. We are

an investigations and oversight subcommittee of the U.S. House of

Representatives. In that regard, we do swear in our members. You

will be under oath. I do not think it will be necessary to run the

clock on these three witnesses in this first panel. But we will try

to put lengthy statements or documentation in the record at request through the Chair, if you would, please.

With those comments, let me welcome our first panel. Our first

panel consists of Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition;

Liz Flowers who is with the Southern Regional Sexual Assault Coalition, and Ned Harman, who will talk about a personal perspective of the question before the subcommittee today, and his unfortunate experience as a family victim.

With those comments, let me welcome our three panelists of witnesses. If you would please stand at this time to be sworn. Raise

your right hands.

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[Witnesses sworn.]

Mr. MICA. The witnesses answered in the affirmative. Let the

record reflect that.

Again, welcome on behalf of our subcommittee. I would like to

recognize first for a statement Mr. Sam Massell, president of the

Buckhead Coalition. Welcome, sir, and you are recognized. Now we

may have to pull those mics up as close as we can.

Mr. MASSELL. This mic?

Mr. MICA. I think this is the one you are on.

STATEMENTS OF SAM MASSELL, PRESIDENT, BUCKHEAD COALITION, ATLANTA, GA; LIZ FLOWERS, SOUTHERN REGIONAL

SEXUAL ASSAULT COALITION; AND NED HARMAN, FAMILY

VICTIM

Mr. MASSELL. All right. Well, I will talk loud, if that works.

Mr. MICA. I think it picks you up.

Mr. MASSELL. Thank you. I am Sam Massell, Mr. Chairman and

Congressman Barr and staff. I appreciate the opportunity of being

with you. As mentioned, I am the president of the Buckhead Coalition and former mayor of the city of Atlanta.

I would like to introduce you to the coalition, which is a highprofile, non-profit civic organization made up of 80 chief executive

officers, or equivalent, of major firms in this north Atlanta community. Buckhead is all within the corporate limits of the city of Atlanta, but is fast becoming the skyline of the metropolitan area. It

now has a population of 66,000 residents, houses, diversified businesses and 16 million square feet of offices, offers 5,000 hotel

rooms, has 1,400 retail stores and over 16,500 multi-family units.

It can also brag of having the largest Presbyterian church in the

entire country, the largest Episcopal congregation in American, the

third largest Conservative Jewish synagogue in the United States,

2 of the largest Southern Baptist churches and 22 other proud

houses of worship.

We are known for our beautiful homes, extensive shopping options and excellent dining establishments. We are also known as

the night-life district of north Georgia. And this is what prompts

me to participate in your hearing today, as night life and drugs are

almost synonymous in the eyes of some.

The complexity and magnitude of the subject warrants congressional consideration, so we thank you for initiating this hearing

and inviting us to testify. Our leadership welcomes an opportunity

to get ahead of the curve, and we think only a public-private partnership can solve the situation.

Our night-life area, known as the Village, is the location of over

100 establishments that have alcoholic beverage licenses within a

10-block section of Buckhead. Some are restaurants, but many are

bars offering little more than a place to congregate with an atmosphere of revelry. City ordinances generally allow them to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. On weekend nights, cruising automobiles gridlock famous Peachtree Road, our major north-south artery, a distance of approximately 11⁄2 miles. The related noise, trash and misbehavior dramatically damages quality of life for the numerous and

nearby residents.

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Many thousands of young people congregate in the area searching for a ‘‘high.’’ In the last couple of years, a half dozen partygoers have been killed here by hit-and-run, gun or knife. Our State

law requires that a person be 21 years of age to buy alcohol. However, on otherwise slow days, some of the clubs advertise 18 yearold or college nights, where ostensibly their profit is from entrance

fees.

Business leaders, neighborhood activists, the ministry, civic

groups and some elected officials have campaigned for years to

tame this phenomenon. The trend, however, has been an acceleration of the excesses. Although local police have recently been more

aggressive reducing the crowd size, there is a serious possibility

that the resulting reduction in alcohol sales may be replaced with

alternative business practices.

Sadly, it should be noted that local government has even less

power to control hours, age and other restrictions on establishments that do not sell alcohol; thus, the conversion of so-called

juice bars—establishments with entrance fees that admit all ages and operate through the night into the next morning, selling $4

bottled water and providing the environment for drug consumption,

which will put lives at an even greater risk. This popular fad is occurring at South Beach in Miami, and it can be anticipated in

other entertainment venues, like Georgetown in D.C., the French

Quarter in New Orleans, and the Village in Buckhead.

It is certainly unfair to the unsuspecting, and unsafe for the unconcerned. Although our night club patrons come from all over the

State and include national and international tourists, large numbers attracted here are believed to be college students, particularly

from Georgia State and the Atlanta University Center. In our discussions with academic leadership, we have become keenly aware

of physical and mental harm resulting from ‘‘binge’’ drinking and ‘‘rave’’ dancing and related drug consumption. We are convinced

that if left unchecked, the cowardly date rape drug and other illegal substances will embarrass and greatly sadden the elders of this

generation.

The ‘‘club drug’’ craze has not yet reached epidemic proportions

here, but conditions are ripe for this to occur. And such exposure

as this hearing can alert the powers to be on the need for action.

We thus welcome help from all quarters to derail this train before

it runs through our community.

Again, I thank you very much for the opportunity of appearing

before you.

Mr. MICA. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Massell. And I will

turn to our next witness, who is Liz Flowers, and she is with the

Southern Regional Sexual Assault Coalition. Welcome, and you are

recognized.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Massell follows:]

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Ms. FLOWERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Congressman Barr for the opportunity to be before you today. I am Liz

Flowers. I currently work as a consultant to several women’s organizations, and the southern region director of Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. I am responsible for the startup of the

Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault, a statewide coalition of

rape crisis centers, and until April of this year served as its first

executive director. I have 15 years of experience in the field of

women’s health and safety.

Somewhere in America, a woman is sexually assaulted every 2

minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1996,

307,000 women were victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. And between 1995 and 1996, more than 670,000 women were

the victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.

During that same time period, Georgia’s rape crisis centers treated 3,593 sexual assault survivors. The Unified Crime Reporting

Program [UCR], cites the highest female rape is in southern States

with a rate of 88 victims per 100,000. Rape is a violent sexual act

against a person’s will. It is a felony. All evidence indicates that

rape is a brutal act of violence and display of power rather than

an act of passion or sexual gratification. Nearly 90 percent of all

rapes involve threats of physical harm or the actual use of physical

force. However, weapons are used in less than half of the reported

rapes. Drugs are often used as a means for incapacitating the victim.

One of the most startling aspects of sex crimes is how many go

unreported. The most common reasons given by women for not reporting these crimes are the belief that it is a private or personal

matter, or they fear reprisal from the assailant. In 1996, only 31

percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials, less than one in every three. Approximately 68,000

of rape victims knew their assailant, and approximately 28 percent

of victims were raped by husbands, 35 percent by acquaintances,

and 5 percent by other relatives.

Further, one of every four rapes takes place in a public area or

in a parking garage; 68 percent of rapes occur between the hours

of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. In 47 percent of rapes, the victims sustained

injuries other than the rape injuries, and 75 percent of female rape

victims require medical care after the attack. At least 45 percent

of rapists were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. About 81

percent of rape victims are White, 18 percent are Black, 1 percent

are other races. While 9 out of 10 rape victims are women, men

and boys are also victimized by this crime. In 1995, 32,130 males,

age 12 and older, were victims of rape or attempted rape.

Teens 16 to 19 were three and one half times more likely than

the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. For nearly 30 years, the anti-rape movement has

worked to overcome misconceptions about the origin and nature of

sexual assault, prejudice toward victims and stereotypes about perpetrators. We have insisted that victims do not ask for it through

provocative dress or behavior. We have maintained that an adult

woman raped by a husband or someone she knows deserves the

exact same justice and support as the child raped by a stranger.

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And we have been loud and clear about the fact that rarely does

a victim falsely report.

Despite the horrendous realities of rape, prevailing misconceptions work against successful prosecution of rapes. In fact, only 3

percent of rapists are ever convicted of their crime. The standard

defense of a rapist puts the victim on trial, and the facts are often

lost in the questioning of the survivor’s character as the contributor

to the crime.

For decades, perpetrators have misused sedatives in order to incapacitate individuals during a sexual assault. Alcohol has been

used by perpetrators for years, but more recently, reports have

identified several other substances used in drug-facilitated rapes,

including Gamma HydroxyButyrate [GHB]—I am going to mess

that one up, I am just going to call it Rohypnol, scopolamine,

burundanga and ketamine. These drugs come in varied forms such

as powder, pill, tablet or liquid. Depending on the drug and its

form, sedating substances may or may not have a noticeable color

or odor.

Individuals may react differently to sedating substances, depending on the dosage, their metabolism and sensitivity to the substance, and the presence of alcohol and/or other drugs. There are

several tell-tale signs that an individual may be under the influence of a sedating substance. Impaired judgment, lowered inhibition, dizziness, confusion, drowsiness, impaired motor coordination,

impaired memory, unconsciousness. If an individual appears extremely intoxicated after consuming a non-alcoholic beverage or

only a small amount of alcohol, they may have unknowingly ingested one of a number of substances.

Gamma Hydroxybutyrate [GHB], with street names of Liquid X,

Georgia Home Boy, Goop, Gamma-O and Grievous Bodily Harm is

a central nervous system depressant, abused for its ability to

produce euphoric and hallucinatory states, and its alleged ability to

release a growth hormone and stimulate muscle growth.

Although GHB was originally considered a safe and natural food

supplement and was sold in health food stores, the medical community soon became aware that it caused overdoses and other health

problems. GHB can produce drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, unconsciousness, seizures, severe respiratory depression and coma. GHB

can be found in liquid form or as a white powdered material. It is

taken orally and is frequently combined with alcohol. Abusers include high school and college students and rave party attendees

who use GHB for its intoxicating effects. Many young women reportedly prefer GHB to alcohol because it is non-caloric.

Some body builders abuse GHB for its alleged anabolic effects.

Several cases have documented the use of GHB to incapacitate

women for the commission of sexual assault. In 1990, the Food and

Drug Administration issued an advisory declaring GHB unsafe and

illicit, except under FDA-approved, physician-supervised protocols.

In March 2000, GHB was placed in Schedule 1 of the Controlled

Substances Act. However, the ingredients to make GHB are still

available and reports continue that abusers make and manufacture

the substance in home tubs for recreational purposes. Many of

these products are available over the Internet.

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Flunitrazepam, which is marketed under the brand name

Rohypnol and is commonly known as roofies, belongs to the

benzodiazepine class of drugs and has never been approved for

medical use in the United States, but is legally prescribed in 50

other countries, including Mexico and Colombia. It is very much

like Valium, Librium and Xanax. Rohypnol’s effects include sedation and muscle relaxation, however the sedative effects of

Rohypnol are 7 to 10 times more potent than valium. The effects

of Rohypnol appear 15 to 20 minutes after administration and last

for approximately 4 to 6 hours. Some residual effects can be found

12 or more hours after administration.

It is difficult to estimate just how many Rohypnol-facilitated

rapes have occurred in the United States. Very often biological

samples are taken from the victim at a time when the effects of the

drug have already past and only residual amounts remain in the

body fluids. These residual amounts are difficult, if not impossible,

to detect using standard screenings available in the United States.

If Rohypnol exposure is to be detected at all, urine samples need

to be collected within 72 hours and subjected to sensitive analytical

tests.

This problem is compounded by the onset of amnesia after ingestion of the drug, which causes the victim to be uncertain about the

facts surrounding the rape. This uncertainty may lead to critical

delays or even reluctance to report the rape and to provide appropriate biological samples for toxology testing.

Also compounding the reporting and screening process is the victim’s fear of willingly consuming a drug. While many date-rape

drugs are consumed without the victim’s knowledge, clearly there

are instances in which an individual has willingly consumed an illicit substance, but not with the intention of being raped or sexually assaulted. Rape with intentional drug use is under-reported.

We may never know the true extent to drug-facilitated rapes.

Even when reports are made and screenings completed, many

State crime labs are so backlogged, they are unable to process the

rape kit in a timely manner. According to testimony, rape kits can

languish as long as 2 years. I do need to pause there and say, however, in Georgia, our crime lab is not backlogged at this time.

Much of the information available about drug-facilitated rape is

anecdotal, very little statistical information is available. Frankly,

there are more questions than answers. Are DEA busts relevant?

Did 1 million doses make it to the street; 20 million? Does rape result in 20 percent of the cases in which GHB is used? Do the drugs

lead to 10 cases a year or 10,000? And in how many of these cases

did the women voluntarily take the drug? Was alcohol involved?

When there is alcohol, how much is consumed? How often do guys

use alcohol and drugs as a, ‘‘weapon,’’ and how are they going

about it?

It is irresponsible for us to perpetually hype something like

drugs that scare people, yet ignore much bigger problems. That is

why research is so key to solving this. We have made people aware

of the problem, and now we ought to figure out if there is one and

what it looks like.

In cases where the woman is drinking or using drugs of her own

volition, are we talking about girls binging to the point of passing

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out and then being attacked, or are we talking about two beers

which leads to some flirting, which leads to his room, which leads

to rape?

The blame for the crime is the same in both these scenarios, but

the messaging and the solutions are a lot different. There is a big

difference in perceptions of voluntary consumption and a drink that

is secretly spiked. However, rape can occur in both of these situations. Drugs and alcohol, in and of themselves, do not cause rape.

Let us take the time to find out what does and how we can stop

the only crime in this country that continues to increase.

Thank you.

Mr. MICA. Thank you for your testimony. We will now recognize

Ned Harman, who is going to relate to the subcommittee some of

his personal experiences. Mr. Harman, you are recognized and welcome.

[The prepared statement of Ms. Flowers follows:]

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Mr. HARMAN. Good morning, Congressmen, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this hearing this

morning. I would especially like to thank Congressman Barr for his

fine representation of us in our district. I appreciate this opportunity to share my experience with GHB. This issue is one that affects every citizen in the United States, either directly or indirectly.

My name is Ned Harman. I live on a farm about 50 miles west

of here, close to Carrollton, GA. My youngest daughter, Holly, was

a freshman at West Georgia College in 1996 when this incident

happened that I am going to tell you about in a minute. I would

like to show you a picture of her. When I speak to groups, I usually

like to put a face on Holly. This was Holly’s, I believe, high school

graduation picture, I believe.

Holly’s nightmare, and ultimately ours, began October 18, 1996.

I was awakened by a phone call around 1 a.m. from the emergency

room at Tanner Hospital, our local hospital there in Carrollton,

GA. There was a lady that was a nurse there that attends our

church. She recognized Holly when they brought her in and called

me. We probably would not have known about it for a while later

if she had not have been there that night. Anyhow, she said Holly

had been brought in not breathing and with no heart beat. You

cannot imagine my feelings at that moment. I felt as if I was dying,

and at the end part of me did die. I probably drove 100 miles per

hour getting to the hospital that night. I do not really remember

much about getting there. When I got there, they had revived

Holly, and she was on a ventilator but in a coma.

Holly stayed at Tanner until about 5 p.m. that Saturday, the

next morning Saturday. During that time at Tanner, Holly started

having grand mal seizures every 5 to 10 minutes. And we were familiar with the seizures because our oldest son, Luke, had hydrocephalus and he had died when he was 16. And he had had seizures, maybe three, four or five during his lifetime. But we were

not familiar with anything like what Holly was having, though.

Like I say, every 5 or 10 minutes, she would have one and she

would nearly jump off the bed. It is tough to watch somebody that

you really love laying there, moving like she was moving and just

being helpless to do anything.

We found out later that Holly and one of her girlfriends had been

in a local restaurant there in Carrollton. Holly was on a kick of

drinking water like this, Evian water, and she had been doing it

probably for a year or two, I guess. She had it, you know, in her

hand a lot of time when she was around, she was just usually

drinking water. Anyhow, she went to a party after the restaurant

with her girlfriend, and one of the guys at the party put pretty

close to—we do not know if it was pure GHB or whatever, but GHB

in her bottle of water that she drank.

Holly then went into convulsions and passed out. The boys would

not let Holly’s friend call 9–1–1, and they would not help her get

her in the car. And she finally got somebody to take her across

town to get a friend in an apartment, one of her roommates, to

come back across town and help get her in the car to take her to

the hospital. And during that time, there was probably 40 to 60

critical minutes that had gone by during this time.

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Getting back to the seizures, Tanner Hospital gave Holly phenobarbital and Dilanta to stop the seizures but nothing helped. Holly

was next carried to Emory Hospital in Atlanta around 5 p.m. on

that Saturday in 1996. Emory finally got the seizures stopped during the night. Holly was in the neurology intensive care at Emory.

In the next room there, there was a lady that had a brain aneurism, and her daughter and I got to know each other waiting

through those long hours in the waiting room there, and she was

in the Secret Service out of the Miami field office, and she got them

to fax something up on GHB. At that time I never had heard of

GHB, I did not know what it was or nothing about it at all. And

she faxed the information up, so we got familiar with GHB pretty

quickly with the information they sent up.

We found out it is more dangerous when it is mixed with alcohol,

as some of the people have already said. Earlier during the night,

Holly, at the restaurant, had had a couple of drinks, so those couple of drinks with the GHB also made it that much more deadly.

The doctors told us that she would not live through the night, that

Saturday night, but during the night she got a little better and

squeezed her older sister’s hand, and we were so happy for that

hand squeeze that night. But Holly stayed at Emory from October

19th until December 23, 1996, intensive care the whole time. I

stayed with her there day and night. One Sunday morning, I guess

it was, I guess maybe a week or two after we had been there, her

heart beat went up to 170 to 185 beats per minute, and stayed that

way until Thursday night. Every hour or two, they would give her

a shot to bring the heart beat down and it would come down to 140

or 150. I never thought I would be proud of 140–150 heartbeat, but

we were glad to see it down that much.

The doctors told us there that Holly never would come off the

ventilator, but on December 23rd, like I say, we left Emory and

went to Shepard’s Spinal Hospital. Within a few days at Shepard’s,

we had her off the ventilator and she was bringing on her own.

After being at Shepard’s for approximately 2 weeks or so, Holly

opened her eyes, and we thought she was coming out of the coma,

because I had never been around anybody in a coma, either, but

it was real strange she was still in the coma. About half the time

she would have her eyes open, half the time they would be closed,

approximately like that. And she would look straight at you, you

would think she could understand what you were saying. But it

was just sort of a blank stare in way, though, but she was still in

a coma.

The nurses and us, her family, for nearly 31⁄2 years, turned Holly

every 2 or 3 hours to keep her from having bed sores. Even after

the ventilator was taken off, Holly had to have a catheter and Gtube the rest of her life.

While at Shepard’s on two separate occasions, her temperature

went up to 107. They put Holly on a special mattress, filled with

cold water, they can increase the temperature and get it real cold.

It was just about freezing, the water, when you got to 107. They

poured ice water down her G-tube, and rubbed her in alcohol,

packed her in ice, all these kind of things to get the temperature

down. The doctor told me that he had never seen one get to 107

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without going into seizures, but Holly did not go into seizures,

though.

Holly left Shepard’s May 1, 1997, we brought her back to

Carrollton, GA, and put her in a nursing home, there at Pine Knoll

Nursing Home in Carrollton. During Holly’s stay at Pine Knoll, she

was taken to Tanner Hospital, back where we had gone to originally that night, several times for pneumonia. In October 1998,

Holly was taken to intensive care at Tanner there. She had a massive blood clot on her lungs. They told us she would not make it

through the night that time, too, but she made it through the

night.

In January 1999, her heartbeat went down to about 25 beats per

minute, and they told us, well, her heart’s just finally wearing out.

You know, she will not live through the night again. But on the

next morning, her heart had started beating back normal again.

On Wednesday morning, January 19, 2000, this year, at 7:30

a.m., Holly made her final stop. This time it was to Heaven. I do

not know why this happened to Holly, how she survived 185 heartbeats, 107 temperatures, massive blood clots on the lung, numerous

bouts with pneumonia, heart beats of 25. But Holly was a strong

girl and a fighter.

If anyone could have come out of a coma, Holly would have been

the one that could come out. But God had other plans for Holly,

and I believe God used Holly those nearly 31⁄2 years to show other

young people around in the community, the State and the country

what the dangers of drugs are. Whether they are slipped to you

without your knowledge or taken as a recreational drug.

Holly had many, many friends. Hundreds of people came to visit

Holly, a lot that did not even know her. Holly touched a lot of lives.

Holly was a beautiful student with a bright and promising future.

Like most young people, Holly thought she was invincible. These

things only happen in New York, L.A., Miami, Chicago, Atlanta.

Not around here, not in the country. But I am here to tell you, first

hand, two young girls in our rural county have died from GHB

from the same boys.

Holly dreamed of becoming a physical therapist, getting married

someday and having children. I dreamed of being at Holly’s graduation from college, walking her down the aisles in marriage. I also

had dreams of all the wonderful things you do with your grandchildren, like babysitting, playing ball, reading to them, take them

to the park, riding bicycles, horses. None of these things will ever

happen now.

I miss Holly, her smile, her voice, her kind heart. You know that

these tragedies not only affect the victim, the one that pays the ultimate price with their lives, but it touches so many other people.

With Holly, it touched her mother, her father, her brothers, her sisters, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, her boyfriend and countless numbers of friends. Our lives will never be the same.

Our faith in God carried us through these long days and nights,

weeks and months and years. But we have the comfort of knowing

that Holly is in Jesus’ arms now. Do not let Holly’s and all the

other deaths be completely meaningless. Fight the senseless death

that claimed Holly and vindicate her by preventing others from suffering the same painful fate. I urge Congress to enact laws and

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strengthen existing laws that would be as tough as possible on

dealers and users of these drugs. We must stop this epidemic in

our country.

Thank you.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Harman follows:]

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Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Harman, for some very compelling testimony. Relating to the subcommittee your tragic personal experience and trying to make something positive from I know what has

been a horrible personal tragedy. We appreciate your coming forward.

Unfortunately, the last 18 months, I have heard countless stories

from parents, not only before our subcommittee, but across the

country, the same type of thing that is happening. And as you have

heard from the statistics that we are going to release tomorrow for

the first time in the Nation’s history, deaths by drug overdose exceed homicides across the land. So this is repeated over and over

and over again, not just in Atlanta and not just with your family,

but with countless American mothers and fathers who have been

subjected to this horror.

Let me start, if I may, with this panel, back to Sam Massell. We

have attempted in Congress to try to deal with this problem by addressing, of course, the supply side and restarting some of the efforts in keeping the illegal narcotics or the ingredients for narcotics

from coming in to our borders, which is a Federal responsibility

and Federal enforcement.

But we have also tried to address the demand side. And we instituted several years ago a $1 billion, in hard taxpayer dollars, national media campaign. It is combined with a requirement for contributions, so it is a several billion dollar campaign that is unprecedented in its financial commitment and scope. We are in the process of evaluating the first year of performance, the first full year,

of that campaign. Are you aware of that national anti-drug media

campaign? Do you think it is effective? And maybe you could also

comment on what you believe the Federal responsibility is in this

total effort.

Mr. MASSELL. I am aware of the media campaign, and I certainly

think an educational effort is very important and meaningful. I feel

our greatest need is one of enforcement, and that is what I meant

by public-private partnership, whereas the civic leadership can call

attention to the problems and the needs it takes government to actually curtail the criminal activities. And that is mostly what we

need. And some of that, of course, can be performed through Federal bureaus that control drugs and other illegal substances, but

much of it is at the local level of policing.

Mr. MICA. One of the dilemmas that we face in Congress is Federal domination of that activity versus the State and local. I think

you have alluded to a need for a partnership in trying to deal with

this, as far as enforcement is concerned.

Are there any specifics that you could cite, or any successful programs at the local level that you have seen, that are not necessarily here or something we should be mirroring, or some effort

that we should support? You know, we have grants, we have other

assistance to local enforcement agencies. Is there anything you

would target with Federal dollars or resources in the enforcement

area?

Mr. MASSELL. I feel that when situations get to crisis stage, you

need crisis controls. And I would refer to zero tolerance enforcement, as has been performed in New York very successfully. And

I think that the local situation in our community, having been acVerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:48 Sep 10, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\74706.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1
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cused of a shortage of law enforcement people, could be aided by

our Federal law enforcement people. If we have this shortage,

which is not denied, as far as the numbers that were budgeted of

some 400 law enforcement officers, and if you know, the government says they cannot or will not, or for whatever reason are not

filling these slots, then they could be supplemented by law enforcement at the Federal level.

Mr. MICA. We heard Mr. Harman talk about the need to go after

the drug dealers, the people that deal in death and destruction. Do

you feel we should increase our penalties, Federal penalties, for

people who are dealing in large quantities of these obviously harmful narcotics?

Mr. MASSELL. I am not knowledgeable enough on the present

programs of punishment, but I do know that it needs cooperation

from the court system as well as law enforcement. And just making

the arrests, if the courts are not supportive, is not very meaningful.

And in some instances, there has been suggestion that the courts

were not as supportive as could be.

Mr. MICA. Well, one of the problems we have had with this administration is we have tried to get them to prosecute drug cases

at the Federal level, and they were declining through, I think,

1997, 1998, the numbers of drug cases that the feds were going

after. After hammering away, we are now beginning to see an increase in some drug prosecutions at the Federal level, however a

new phenomena we have found is the sentencing is going down,

down, down. So rather than a severe and intensive prosecution,

which we have now got swinging back and encouraging them to go

after them, now the sentencing is going down, so that those who

are committing these offenses are getting less severe sentences.

And there is also this philosophy or prevailing theory that this is

not a criminal problem, this is a health problem. What is your

view?

Mr. MASSELL. It has been my experience that if sentencing or the

punishment for any criminal activity is what the public considers

to be excessive, then you do not get as many convictions. So I am

not an expert in this field, but I have seen this occur in some areas.

And I think there needs to be balance. You have to start at the

first effort, which is that of arrest. And that is the enforcement

part, with which I am very concerned, and feel I need help, this

community does. Not just in the drug area, but in some others as

well, related to our night life.

And we are not at the epidemic stage yet, but I can see this happening, and I would like to get ahead of the curve. So if we can

get greater enforcement with local, with Federal, with State in between, and anybody else who will help. And we have had help, for

instance, from the county with a Sheriff’s reserve. They have come

in and been very effective. But we need enforcement, we need accelerated, aggressive enforcement.

Mr. MICA. Thank you.

Ms. Flowers, you talked about the problem of the sexual assaults

and how these crimes are on the increase. From a Federal legislative standpoint, do you feel that the laws that we have in place are

sufficient, penalties sufficient, either dealing with narcotics which

sometimes, as your testimony indicated, can lead to the being part

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of, I guess, the act that is committed? Do you feel that we have

adequate Federal enforcement legislation? And then the other part

of my question would deal with adequate Federal resources to deal

with the enforcement?

Ms. FLOWERS. I think I would be remiss at this particular point,

in the 106th Congress, not to mention VAWA, or the Violence

Against Women Act, which is, I think, about to come before the

House within the next week, or never, apparently. The reauthorization of 1994 Violence Against Women is a huge and wide-sweeping

piece of legislation which includes not only funding for nearly every

battered women shelter and rape crisis center in the country, but

also contains law enforcement and prosecution components, and

this year includes a judicial component to deal specifically with

how advocates and law enforcement and communities work together to reduce all of this. There is also a research component

with it through CDC, and I think that piece is in Mr. Goodling’s

committee right now, and certainly that would be something for

you all to look at.

All of that is in some part contained within VAWA, which is

something that we need at the community level, or even what we

have right now goes away. In fact, if VAWA is not reauthorized,

in Georgia, you will effectively shut down every battered women’s

shelter and rape crisis center, including the State coalition.

One of the things that the State coalition does, in fact, with this

Federal money is work with the program called SART, or Sexual

Assault Response Team. It is a combination of the training program for law enforcement, it is not a warm, fuzzy, you know, handholding, this is what you do when a woman comes in and says she

is raped, but a team of psychologists and criminologists and others

who go in and work specifically with our law enforcement around

the State of Georgia to identify specifically what a victim might

look like when she has been drugged and has been sexually assaulted.

Particularly with what we are talking about here, this is a really

difficult piece for law enforcement. And then of course, the followup

for prosecution to go with, because remember the victim has pretty

much been incapacitated by this. Although she could be walking

around and looking like she is functioning, so the people around

her may not know in fact that she is nearly in a comatose state.

Training law enforcement to do that, training folks to understand

and public awareness campaigns about, you know, closed containers.

If you look at these bottles of water right here on this table, Mr.

Harman’s bottle of water is exactly the invitation that is given to

put something in. And it is just so easy to walk by and put something in that at a club. My open container here, you know, that

kind of public training.

Where sexual assault and the drugs come in, it is going to have

to be a multi-issue sort of campaign. Because on one hand, you are

dealing with the prevention message of drugs, but at the same time

dealing with the prevention message of sexual assault, and helping

society understand what rape and sexual assault is. So there is a

double message. VAWA can help with that.

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On your point of additional Federal laws and, you know, things

like that, the problem we are specifically having in Georgia—and

I believe last year only two adult women who were victims, their

cases were actually—they were found guilty. Part of that reason is,

unfortunately, mandatory minimums. And we got tough on crime,

which is, you know, philosophically a fabulous idea, but the rape

conviction rate in Georgia has continually gone down since that

happened.

The problem with that is the public education piece of what people perceive to be rape and sexual assault, and are not willing to

put away Johnny, local football hero, because he tried to push the

limits too far in acquaintance rape, as most of these are.

So I am not clear that, alone, toughening a law is where it is at,

without actually coupling with that the messaging about prevention on both drugs and sexual assault.

Mr. MICA. Well, how would you deal with mandatory minimums

at the Federal level? I mean, how would you modify current mandatory minimums?

Ms. FLOWERS. I believe that, in most cases, the Judges having

the discretion to make those types of calls, including extended probationary periods. The recidivism on rape and sexual assault is 67

percent. So even if we lock somebody up and they get the maximum, they are back on the street, and without some programs that

ease them back into society, it is probably going to happen again.

And even in the case, I believe South Carolina has instituted, you

know, chemical castration. That is not working, either. Because

rape is not a physical, sexual gratification but a mental power and

control, the castration is not doing anything.

So I think that giving Judges discretion in programs that keep

folks, you know, at least under surveillance for a longer period of

time might be necessary.

Mr. MICA. Well, the problem we have is trying to identify successful programs to put some of these people in, whether they are

habitual sexual offenders or habitual drug offenders or users. And

we are not finding very good success stories. Our subcommittee, I

think, within the House and the Senate, the Congress would pour

whatever funds we could or resources we could into successful programs.

Now there is an exception with some of the faith-based programs,

we have higher success rates, and we are trying to modify some of

the law to allow the support which heretofore has not been available for some of these other groups. Are there any specific programs you can report to the subcommittee that are particularly effective that should have our support, and any modifications in our

criteria for extending support to successful programs?

Ms. FLOWERS. The short answer is, no. The longer answer is,

even with the crime statistics that were released within the last 2

weeks, touting how all crimes across the board were going down.

If you look specifically at rape and sexual assault, that was the one

crime that actually went up in terms of numbers. And that has

happened regularly. And we do not talk about it.

So I think one of the things that we need to do, as a country,

and certainly in Georgia, is we need to begin talking about it, and

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we need to be talking about rape and sexual assault as the heinous

crime that it is. That is No. 1.

No. 2, I think what can be done more in terms of resources and

successful programs that have just started, are local prevention

awareness and ad campaigns. A lot of the campaigns, one of them

that you have talked about, in terms of the drug campaigns, tend

to be created, you know, by some ad campaign that thinks that

they have come up with the right idea, but do not talk to the folks

in Carrollton, do not specifically address how the folks live and

deal in that community.

One of the things that we did here in Georgia was to spend about $40,000 on a public awareness campaign, first of all to find out

what Georgians knew about sexual assault and rape, and it was

pretty bad. It was actually horrible, what we came up with. But it

allowed us to design an education program for Georgia, and now

is probably going to be used by the entire south, because the demographics are so similar. And allowing us what to find out what resonates in our own communities, as opposed to some boilerplate prevention ad campaign that gets dumped on us, is the recommendation that I would make.

Mr. MICA. Thank you.

Mr. Harman, your daughter died the victim of illegal narcotics

which were given to her. Was there any attempt to go after those

who provided her these narcotics?

Mr. HARMAN. Yes, he is in jail now. He got a big-name lawyer

in Atlanta here to keep him out of jail, I guess, for maybe 21⁄2, close

to 3 years. Well, about 21⁄2 years. He has been in jail about a year

now. And I do not think he got much time. Truthfully, I did not

keep up with it that much.

Mr. MICA. Do you think the penalties are adequate? I have had

parents similar to you tell me that, you know, they feel that if

someone had used a weapon and destroyed their child, there would

be a tougher penalty. Here they have used narcotics which led to

just a horrible and painful death for your daughter and your family. And yet they get off with a lesser penalty. It seems that there

is a growing family of victims that now are asking that there be

some tougher penalties for people who are providing death and destruction to their family members. What is your opinion?

Mr. HARMAN. I have got mixed emotions on it. I agree with what

the other panelists said, in a lot of ways, and I am not—I am

strong on penalty on things. But I am not naive enough to know

that we cannot stop the drugs in this country completely, unless

there is a desire out there not to take drugs. That is the main

thing. Until we can educate the people in this country against

drugs, they have got to do that as the No. 1 thing, I guess. As long

as there is a desire, they are going to get them somewhere, the people to provide it for them.

But on the other hand, too, that it is too much in this country,

to me, I guess, coddling the people that are the criminals, and do

not look at the victims out there. I mean, whether it is the victim

themselves or the victim’s family or whatever like that, there is too

many excuses for the criminals out there that, you know, they did

this because of this, that, or whatever, their childhood, or whatever

happened to them or how they were brought up or whatever. To

34

me, you have to take responsibility for actions you do sometime in

life, when you get old enough, whatever that age might be, you

have to be responsible for what you do, no matter what your background or what other circumstances were.

In that aspect, there needs to be something done. I do not have

the answers for sure. And I know there is so much money in drugs

itself, that it is going to be a real—just about impossible thing to

do. There is a lot of fine judges, a lot of fine sheriffs, policemen,

DEA, Customs, or whatever people out there. I am not saying there

is not. But there is so much money involved out there and so much

corruption that a lot of this stuff does not get arrested to start

with. But after they are arrested, I think there needs to be some

real stiff penalties for them.

Like on the other hand, I think there are people out there that

need to rehabilitate, for sure, before they get back on the streets,

and there needs to be an education in the schools. I have gone to

different schools around the State, some over there in Alabama,

different civic organizations, churches, and spoke to a lot of young

people about the water left open, water drinks, mixed drinks, CocaCola or whatever. If you are at a party, make sure, telling the

young people to not leave your drinks, even with a friend. If it is

an open drink served to you somewhere, you know, ask to open it

yourself or whatever. So I have, you know, done a lot of that

around the State. So there needs to be a lot more of that done.

But still, I still go back to this, we need some strong drug policy

for the dealers, the big dealers, the manufacturers, this kind of

thing, so long as there is a desire to use these and need for them

in the country, I know we will never block it out completely because people will provide it for them. But still, I would like to see

as much as possible done to wipe out as much as we can.

Especially, I think, illegal immigration, this kind of thing, reminds me of the Mexican border down there, I would like to see

something done about—I do not think there is nothing done about

so much illegal immigration coming across the border, which leads

to so many drugs coming across the border like that. So many

trucks that come across the border unstopped, you do not know

what is in them, you know. I do not have the answer, but I think

that something needs to be done.

Mr. MICA. It is a Federal responsibility. Well, I appreciate that.

I particularly want to thank you for your testimony. And also for

your personal efforts to try to turn this horrible tragedy into something positive. I again thank you on behalf of the subcommittee.

Let me yield now to the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Barr, for

questions.

Mr. BARR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

What you all have told me today, I mean it really is very, very

enlightening. You do not think of putting your life at risk if you

are in a commercial establishment and you happen to leave a bottle

of water open, rather than closed. And that you cannot even, in

that sort of setting, trust leaving a drink on the table for a few moments while you go to the restroom. It really is tragic that we have

to worry about such things, but obviously we do. And it is one

thing for us to talk about it, but it is quite another to sensitize

young people who, as you said, Ned, think they are invincible, and

35

do not think of these things. But to sensitize them to be cognizant

of just the specific act of not leaving an open drink somewhere. It

may cost a few dollars to get another one when you come back, but

it is certainly a small price to pay for possibly saving your life.

But those are the realities, and I think, Ms. Flowers, what you

mentioned about education is very, very important. And you mentioned, I think you mentioned specifically some of the national advertising that General McCaffrey and the Office of National Drug

Control Policy have instituted with Federal funding over the last

few years. And I think you mentioned that, while it is all well and

good, I think they have come up with some very, very effective advertising to alert people to the national drug problem. It is on a

very broad level. Is there anything specifically that you could suggest to us, in terms of better directing some of those moneys to

local communities? Mr. Harman mentioned that—I think, I do not

want to put words in your mouth—but one of the things that Holly

and his family faced was a lack of understanding during some of

those critical minutes and hours and days over exactly what it is,

what it was that they were facing. Are there some specific steps

that you can recommend to us when we look, for example, to next

year’s funding for the National Drug Control Policy Office, in terms

of how to better direct those moneys, to better educate local law enforcement, parents, local educators, bar establishment owners and

so forth?

Ms. FLOWERS. I think you are on the right track with that, yes.

I think the money needs to get to the local community. I am very

much a proponent of local focus groups, and really finding out what

resonates with people in various communities.

One of the things that we did in Georgia was bring in campaigns

that were being used in all different States, nationally, because we

thought, well, you know, if it is not broke, do not fix it, and if these

campaigns work to educate people about sexual assault and what

can happen, we will just purchase those ads and run them here.

What we found out for Georgians is that it did not work for them

at all. We conducted focus groups in north Georgia and rural areas,

we did male-female. And in fact, the one ad, in fact, that was running out in California had the exact opposite effect of what we

thought it should have in front of Georgians.

And so one of the things that I think is missing, when we put

money into a campaign, like CDC, and ask for prevention, it is for

them, so you know, it all gets boggled up. You all know this because you work with it every day—in some State agency someplace,

and it never—either does not get to the local community or the

local community is not running a focus group and there is some

thing that is put out for them and they are told, you know, run an

ad. And so a bunch of well-meaning people come together, and they

put something out, but nobody is listening because it does not resonate with them.

And that was my point about, does it resonate in Carrollton? Are

there ways that, through State coalitions on maybe a combination

of drug coalitions, the anti-drug coalitions and anti-rape coalitions,

that they come together and choose some target communities to put

together focus groups and run those, and find out what is going to

work. Because I think Mr. Harman’s point is really good. I mean,

36

trying to stamp out all the drug dealers is the wrong end of it. Let

us educate folks on this end to say, why use it to begin with?

And I think then, in combination with the community and the

national overlay of media, we might actually be getting at something.

Mr. BARR. One of the things you mentioned in your written testimony was, ‘‘Although GHB was originally considered a safe and

natural food supplement,’’ and then you go on. When was it considered that? How long ago are we talking about?

Ms. FLOWERS. Just a few years ago. I do not have the exact year,

but it was sold in health food stores, mostly for body builders. Actually, I think just in the past 2 or 3 years, was still pretty available, and sometimes you can still get the different components of

GHB, either through your health food store. There is something

called, I think it is GLB, it is a precursor—I think I have got that

initial right—a precursor to GHB, which is still available in health

food stores. And so you can go and buy that and overlay a couple

of other things on it and basically have GHB again.

I mean, we are over here talking about illegal drugs coming

across the border when I can go to Lindburgh Plaza’s health food

store and probably pick up everything I need.

Mr. BARR. You mentioned also that some standard screenings are

not available in the United States that might do a better job and

a quicker job of identifying some of these substances. And here

again, as Mr. Harman was indicating, this was perhaps one of the

problems, or was one of the problems. We will never know whether

it could have saved Holly’s life or not, but it was one of the problems, not knowing exactly what they were confronted with at the

time that this happened. And I remember that tragic weekend also,

Ned, getting a call from Ms. Brock, our representative there. And

it was a great deal of uncertainty about what we were faced with,

what the law enforcement was facing, what the doctors were facing, what the family was facing.

Are there screenings that are available? Is it a matter of just not

having the proper funding, or are priority decisions being made so

that we are putting money at the local level, for example, into

other areas and not purchasing the equipment that needs to be

purchased to better identify these substances?

Ms. FLOWERS. I think it is a combination of both. On an international level, there is a team that has put together a new rape

kit, which I do not know if you are familiar with the standard rape

kit we use here in Georgia, it is an envelope about this big (indicating), and it contains some slides and swabs that cost about $7.50.

And the law enforcement is responsible for transporting it to and

from the hospital. Anybody can buy the rape kit itself, however

some law enforcement agencies, because of their desire to control

the process, will tell hospitals, you are not allowed to buy it. So

they have to wait for law enforcement to come with the rape kit.

That is a delay, etc.

On an international level, they have got a—it is a more expensive rape kit, but it has got everything contained in it.

Mr. BARR. Excuse me, when you say more expensive, what sort

of magnitude are we talking about? Are we talking about a few dollars?

37

Ms. FLOWERS. Our rape kit is $7.50, and this one would probably be, I would suspect, in the $40 range, but I do not know what the

mass production, if the cost would come down on that or anything.

You know, if everything else, the price would probably come down

over time. But it is a self-contained kit that has got so much dye

and everything in it that these tests can be run on the spot. If you

were not in a hospital setting, you could actually conduct a rape

exam, which is the point you want to get to. So further advancement in those type of screenings would be helpful.

The problem with these drugs is that they are pretty much out

of your system in about 12 hours, basically. We usually say that

the maximum rape exam can be done at 72 hours for just about

all other evidence, and make sure that you have preserved the best

evidence that you can. But these—you know, you have an individual who is woken up after basically a semi-comatose situation the

night before, and maybe she remembers getting to where she is

and maybe she does not. And the way these drugs work, you are

sort of in a black-out stage. Rape seems to be a sort of he-said, shesaid sort of crime anyway, and so she cannot even completely tell

law enforcement what it is that is going on.

Mr. BARR. And that creates problems that, as Mr. Harman said,

these high-priced lawyers can use as—— Ms. FLOWERS. Exactly.

Mr. BARR [continuing]. You know, to drive wedges in the testimony.

Ms. FLOWERS. You are at the hospital now, and you are trying

to tell them. And in Holly’s case, she was unable to tell them what

the symptoms are. So you know, that is where the education piece

comes in, recognizing these symptoms, both in—I mean, Holly had

to beg girlfriends to come and pick her up and to even take her

someplace. That the people around here were probably aware, as

most people are with their friends, of how quickly they become intoxicated. They probably know that Holly had two drinks at a restaurant, that she was not going to be having seizures and falling

down and not being able to communicate effectively.

That is all about educating everybody around you, law enforcement. You know, if I stumble up some evening out of Buckhead on

a Friday night after I have been in a club, somebody spiked my

drink and I stumble off to a law enforcement officer, I am just

going to look drunk, and he may just push me aside and say, you

know what, you need to go find your friends, you need to find a

ride home, ma’am, you need to, you know, get on out of here. Instead of maybe recognizing the signs that I have been drugged and

I need help, before we end up in a situation like Holly.

Mr. BARR. So a key component would be better educating law enforcement on the street, on the beat——

Ms. FLOWERS. Yes.

Mr. BARR [continuing]. To the danger signs of these date rape

drugs?

Ms. FLOWERS. Correct. But I think one of the other things that

we have done is we have educated in isolation. So we have law enforcement being educated and prosecution over here, the advocates

over here, and the medical community. What we support is the concept of all four of those components being needed to address this.

38

And educating those people collectively, so that they work effectively as a team when something like this happens. So that law enforcement sees the young woman, who then transports to the medical facility who also recognizes the symptoms as the advocates

come in to support and help.

Mr. BARR. Thank you. Mr. Massell, you mentioned zero tolerance, and I think you mentioned New York’s experience in recent

years to sort of pull itself back from the brink of destruction, symbolic destruction, I suppose. We have seen these problems in the

Atlanta area as well over the years, the problems with Underground Atlanta, a tremendous positive concept and it went downhill, for some of these very same reasons that we are talking about

here. And it can take, at best, years to redevelop a community’s

reputation for safety and to draw those people back. Once you lose

them, you have lost them, and you have to, you know, start all over

again, and it can take a lot of time and be very devastating on a

community, not only from the personal side, as Mr. Harman related, but from the business standpoint as well.

Could you elaborate just a little more on perhaps some of the

specific steps that we could look at with regard to the Buckhead

community, for example, similar to what has happened up in New

York?

Mr. MASSELL. Well, first of all I would like to endorse and echo

the description you just gave of what can happen in a community

when it does not have enforcement, and lawlessness runs wild, because it not only affects the business of the nearby orderly establishments, like restaurants that might not be in the late-night

arena, it also starts affecting the image of the community and this

affects the businesses in retail, it affects even sales and rentals of

condominiums and apartments and then single-family homes. And

what happens is the property values go down and that decreases

ad valorem taxation, income to the city. And the cost is dramatic.

And left unchecked, it can make a tremendous difference and a

very foolish frugality of not providing the amount of law enforcement that could offset this.

As far as zero tolerance, in my opinion, you have to sometimes

use a two-by-four to get a donkey’s attention, and if necessary you

arrest those that jay-walk and those that do not have their seatbelts on and those who throw cigarette butts out the window and

any other violation of any existing ordinance. And then people get

the clear picture that you are not going to tolerate lawlessness.

And what happens, we found anyway in our community in the

Buckhead nightlife area, that it is not so much the people in the

clubs that are causing the problems.

In fact, right now the club business is off a minimum of 20 percent. But it is these hangers-on, and according to the law enforcement people, the criminal element, including drug vendors, use this

as cover and come into the community, and they can operate without much fear of detection, going into the neighborhoods around

with burglaries and car theft and other violations. So that what is

needed is this enforcement image that tells people, this is not a

comfortable place for the criminal to live or work or operate. And

so they will leave this area.

39

And that could have saved underground, it could have been done

quick enough, in my opinion. And that is what is needed very

quickly in the Buckhead Village area.

Mr. BARR. Do you think that sort of approach would have a high

likelihood of succeeding at the challenge that you laid out at the

beginning of this hearing, and that is to stop this problem from becoming an epidemic before it does? Are we still in that window of

opportunity where we can do that?

Mr. MASSELL. Yes. Right now, we have a lot of misbehavior,

which is disturbing to the quality of life, which is a very important

factor to consider. But the crime rate is still relatively small, and

the truth is that the drug usage has not reached what would be

considered epidemic proportions in the Village. But it surely can if

it is not curtailed. And that is why I am pleading for whatever help

we can get in the Buckhead community from whatever source is

available.

Mr. BARR. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, if I could, I know that you have been very kind

in extending the period of time for question and answer. If I could

just ask one final question.

Mr. Harman, as you indicated during the last few years since

Holly’s tragic death, you spent at least part of your time, probably

a good deal of your time, traveling and speaking and helping to try

and educate others in a way that will avoid them having to go

through the same tragedy that you all did. But looking at the community in Carrollton, in Carroll County, where this tragedy occurred with Holly, have you noticed any changes? Are people more

sensitive to these problems, our young people, our schools, our law

enforcement, so that hopefully others, as you indicated, will learn

from the tragedy that you all have had to deal with? Have you noticed some changes over the last 4 years?

Mr. HARMAN. Somewhat. You know, individual cases, I have had

people come up to me and say that this has changed their lives,

and knowing about Holly and hearing about her, and how a lot of

young people, they are more aware when they go anywhere just out

in public, especially bars, this kind of thing, they are more aware

of what they are doing, and their drinks, whatever, they are more

aware of it from what has happened. They say they are.

And we have urged, when I am going around talking, like Mayor

Massell said about zero tolerancy, we have urged that in the community, in the high schools, this kind of thing. We have urged

them to put that policy into effect in different schools and the local

law enforcement in different areas we have spoke in. I think those

things can have a big effect on it. And the things Ms. Flowers said,

on the education part, really needs to be done a lot more of.

Mr. BARR. Do you know, Ned, specifically whether some of the

pre-existing programs, such as the D.A.R.E. program, the Drug

Abuse Resistance Education program, are they talking about these

types of drugs, the danger signs of which are very different from

marijuana and cocaine, and so forth? Are they well educated as to

the danger signs and helping to educate our young people to do

some of the things we have talked about here today, that would increase the chances of preventing this sort of thing?

40

Mr. HARMAN. Honestly, I do not know. I have not heard one of

them speak. I know there is a lot of it in our community, to go

around speaking like that, but I have never been in it before when

they have been there. They do that on their own, I think, at different times.

I might say, a lot of education needs to be out there on the drugs

in the communities, but just to throw a different wrinkle at it, it

is a lot more deeper, to me, in this country. Our local community,

the State, the whole country is a moral decay out there, to me, that

we are going to have to address sometime or other in our country,

get some morals back into our people, the young people, parents or

whatever it might be, where it needs to come from. But in the

school system, churches, community action or whatever. But there

is no regard for human life out there. And especially in Holly’s

case, these guys, you know, if they had just carried her to the hospital and rolled her out, they did not have to get involved with the

drug people, if they just carried her when they saw her pass out

or go into convulsions, if they had just carried her there and just

rolled her out in front of the emergency room, I think Holly would

still be here today.

Mr. BARR. In that particular case, were there others besides the

perpetrators themselves that knew this had happened?

Mr. HARMAN. Well, there were other people there, from what I

understand. Now you know, we will never know the truth of the

whole thing, because Holly was unable to speak. From her

girlfriend, where we get most of my information, that was there

with her, she says that the people there, one of the boys there,

would not let anybody call the police, call 9–1–1 or do anything

like. Afraid they would get in trouble, I guess. And would not help

her get into the car, and she was just by herself, nobody would help

her. When she had to go across town to the roommate, at the college there, to get another roommate to come back and help to get

Holly in the car.

But you know, there is so much regard for animals, I make my

living off my animals and crops, this kind of thing, is more regard

for animals in this country, it seems like, than there are for human

rights nowadays. And I am not saying we do not need to treat animals good, because I do treat animals good, because that is where

I make my living from. But there is a lot of people out in this country that have more regard for animals’ rights than they do for

human rights. I just think we just got to somehow get a grip on

this country about the morals, about regard for human life.

I do not know, it seems like I think on the local level is where

we have got to do most of our stuff. I am really strong on the local

level thing, and maybe something can be used on the local level,

too. But on the national level, too, or State level, whatever, looks

like there could be something—I do not watch this MTV, something

like that, but somewhere where, you know, I can talk, and you all

can talk and a lot of grown-ups can talk to young people. But unless you can hit them where they are and pay attention, MTV, or

whatever it might be. I could not stand to watch the stuff, myself.

But that or some of the things that young people go to.

If you can make them aware of it in that aspect of it, where they

show some real-life stuff, something like what happened to Holly,

41

with all the instruments hooked to her, in a coma, let them know

this kind of stuff, dramatization of it, or let them know what happens to people. Whether it is slipped to you or whether you do it

as a recreation thing, they need to be more aware of what can happen to you, the consequences of it somehow.

Mr. BARR. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Barr. And I would like to thank our

three panelists this morning. I think you have described a new

challenge that we face. While we have made some progress on curtailing homicides in this country, we have seen an increase in sexual assaults related to illegal narcotics use. Where we have made

progress again in homicides, with the homicides now being exceeded by drug overdose and death through illegal narcotics, and so

much of the crime in this country tied into illegal narcotics, we are

hopeful that we can work with the local officials in a local-State,

private-public partnership to try to bring resources, assistance and

meaningful Federal programs that will be more effective in dealing

with what Atlanta faces and other communities face.

We thank each of you, particularly you, Mr. Harman, who gave

such compelling testimony. I wish every young person and parent

could have heard that today. It probably would make a great deal

of difference and maybe a few will again take away from here some

hope for the future, even though you have suffered a terrible personal loss. So we thank you in particular, and the other panelists.

And I will excuse the witnesses at this time, and call our second

panel.

Our second panel this morning consists of four witnesses. The

first one is Jason Saliba who is the Assistant District Attorney of

Cobb County. He is joined on the panel by Paul Howard who is the

District Attorney of Fulton County. We also have on this panel

John Andrejko, and he is the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug

Enforcement Agency. We have our final panelist, Robert Gattison,

and Mr. Gattison is the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta office of the U.S. Customs Service. I would like to welcome the four

panelists.

As I indicated to our first panel, this subcommittee is a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Reform of the House

of Representatives and an investigations and oversight panel of

Congress. We do swear in our witnesses, which I will do in just a

moment. Additionally, if you have any lengthy statements or documentation, we will run a clock, we have four panelists here. Try

to limit your oral comments and presentation to the subcommittee

to 5 minutes. That will allow us enough time for questions. But if

you do have additional statements, documentation or information

you would like submitted to the record, upon request through the

Chair, that will be made part of the permanent record of this hearing.

With those comments, I would like to now ask the witnesses if

they would stand to be sworn. Raise your right hands.

[Witnesses sworn.]

Mr. MICA. The witnesses answered in the affirmative. We appreciate your coming forward this morning and providing us your testimony. Let me start, if I may, with the Assistant District Attorney

42

of Cobb County, GA, Jason Saliba. Welcome sir, and you are recognized.

STATEMENTS OF JASON SALIBA, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, COBB COUNTY, GA; PAUL HOWARD, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FULTON COUNTY, GA; JOHN ANDREJKO, SPECIAL

AGENT IN CHARGE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION; AND ROBERT GATTISON, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE,

ATLANTA, U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE

Mr. SALIBA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to the members of

your staff, and of course, Representative Barr who invited us here.

I would like to thank you for allowing law enforcement to be heard

on this issue.

Our jurisdiction for Cobb County, GA is one of the northernmost

suburbs of the city of Atlanta. I am currently assigned to what is

called the MCS Narcotics Unit. That is a task force of local agencies who provide manpower, as well as resources, under the direction of a command staff. We also have a good working relationship

with the Drug Enforcement Administration, and in fact have an

agent assigned to them as a task force agent.

Over the last 5 to 6 years, we have seen a dramatic increase in

certain of the drugs that are before this committee today. The first

of those is methamphetamine. As the committee probably knows,

for a long time, methamphetamine was controlled predominantly

by biker organizations in this country and was brought in from

Canada. Over the last few years we have seen a shift in that.

That drug is now controlled predominantly, we believe, by Mexican organized crime units. Indications from our intelligence group

within Cobb County, as well as what is shared between the agencies in the city of Atlanta is that those groups are bringing that

in from out of the country. We have had recently in the suburban

part of Atlanta several labs in various counties, which were found

by law enforcement and seized and destroyed.

However, the amount of methamphetamine that we are seeing is

not consistent with the laboratories being found here. We have

gone from ounce quantities to pound-type quantities that our

agents are dealing with. And it is not only Cobb County, it is the

surrounding counties around us, because all of our task forces work

together and trade information.

With the fall of cocaine in its social status, not the amount of use

but its social status not being what it once was, people in this area

have turned to methamphetamine. It is a drug which produces a

similar type high or reaction, however it is much longer lasting,

and the prices are similar and comparable. The organizations who

are importing this into our area are exceedingly organized.

The other drug that we are seeing a massive increase in is

MDMA, or what is known as Ecstasy. As the previous panel testified, it is a large drug among the youth and young adults of our

community. It exists not only in the Buckhead area and in the high

night life areas where there is a large concentration, but it exists,

we are finding in most neighborhood bars and restaurants and

things of that nature, all through the suburbs in Atlanta.

College students, teenagers, they do not understand that this is

the same type of effect and the same type of danger as heroin and

43

cocaine, the things that have been much more publicized and directed at the youth over the years. It comes in through, we believe,

the northeastern and northern United States. It is manufactured

out of this country predominantly.

This year alone, we have seized 34 percent more dosage units of

MDMA than in the last 5 years combined, 140 percent higher seizure rate than in the highest year we had, which was back in the

mid-1990’s. The date-rape drugs, as far as Rohypnol and GHB

present their own problems to our local law enforcement, particularly GHB. Local law enforcement prides itself on working from

both ends of the spectrum.

We have undercover agents of course who try to infiltrate drug

organizations and stop that type of activity. But our standard police officers, those of every agency in and around the city of Atlanta

are trained if they stop an automobile and they smell burned marijuana or they see scales, they see residue in bags, things of that

nature, that they are to report that. And they bring in the drug

agents and an investigation commences.

However with GHB, that is a much harder task. If you walk into

someone’s house, they have several bottles of water, like those sitting before the panel, any one of those could contain GHB and law

enforcement would never know. And they obviously do not have the

resources to test every single substance that is clear in liquid found

in every single home. I do not believe we have any accurate statistics, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that GHB is very prevalent

in the Atlanta area. Seizures have remained somewhat steady,

however the seizures we have made have been of large quantities,

not the single-dosage units.

We are here to ask today, to talk of course, and answer questions, but also ask for the cooperation of the local agencies, as well

as the Federal agencies. I do not think that we can do this alone,

I do not think the Federal agencies can do it alone. We have a longstanding commitment in Cobb County to working with the other

agencies that are represented here, and they have been very good

to us over the years. We would like thank them for that and ask

for that continued support.

Mr. MICA. Thank you for your testimony. And I would like now

to recognize Paul Howard, who is the District Attorney of Fulton

County. You are welcomed and recognized at this time.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Saliba follows:]

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Mr. HOWARD. Good morning. Again, I would like thank the Congress for being here and examining what I believe is a very important issue. I would like to restrict my comments to the date rape

drugs. And I have prepared some comments that I submitted, and

I would like to——

Mr. MICA. Without objection, your entire statement will be made

part of the record. Please proceed.

Mr. HOWARD. On January 28th, a Fulton County Jury convicted

two defendants for rape and aggravated sodomy upon a local college student. The conviction was unique in that it represented the

first sexual assault involving the use of a so-called date-rape drug

to be prosecuted in the State of Georgia. The facts and circumstances of the case were all too familiar.

On March 31, 1998, the defendants made the acquaintance of the

victim and one of her female friends while the defendants visited

the young lady’s dormitory room at Georgia State University,

which is one of our local colleges. The defendants brought that

night a baby food jar containing Gamma HydroxyButyrate [GHB],

G, or liquid X, which they had purchased somewhere near the campus.

At the urging of the defendants, the victim and her friend ingested a small amount of the drug thinking that it would produce

a mild high, but instead, both of the women lost consciousness;

their breathing was slowed to a dangerous pace. And while one of

the women lay unconscious in the bathroom, the other woman was

sexually assaulted by both men. Had another student not stopped

by just by chance and called 9–1–1, none of this would have ever

been brought to the public’s attention. Even worse, more serious

physical harm would have resulted to these two young ladies.

The jury convicted the defendants in this case in less than 90

minutes. The trial judge, along with the defense, had successfully

suggested during the trial that the victim was as much to blame

for what happened as the defendants, and the defendants in this

case were granted a retrial. And at the retrial, some of the evidence that was excluded during the first trial, under our State’s

rape shield law, was admitted and these defendants were acquitted.

Even though we had eye witness testimony and the victim’s

brave determination to undergo the pain of a second trial, it did

not outweigh the misunderstanding and confusion surrounding

these date-rape drugs, and the ways which they affect sexual assault cases.

Recognizing this after first trial, my office sponsored a short educational seminar on the dangers of date rape drugs. In addition to

the staff members from my office, speakers included members of

the Grady Rape Crisis Center, the Georgia Poison Center and the

Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault. Mr. Ned Harman, whom

you heard from before, was also on hand to bring the real dangers

of these substances to the public. Deans of students and panhellenic councils, student leaders from over a dozen area colleges

and universities, as well as representatives from the county and

city boards of education were invited to attend and the response

was overwhelming.

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And Congressmen, I would like for you all to know that the most

common question that they asked was, what can our young people

do to protect themselves, and what should we know about these

drugs? And I believe that these concerns are well founded, because

these drugs are easily slipped into beverages, alcoholic or otherwise, rendering the victim sedated, confused and, at worst, unconscious or comatose.

These drugs are a sexual predator’s dream come true. And once

an assault has taken place, the amnesia which commonly accompanies these other symptoms leaves the victim uncertain of what

has actually taken place, and unable to fully assist law enforcement in the prosecution of those responsible. Hence, most sexual

experts in law enforcement agencies in this area feel certain that

incidents such as this involving date rape drugs are seriously

under-reported. Even if a woman has reason to believe that she has

been the victim of a sexual attack while under the influence of one

of these substances, the feelings of guilt or shame at having willingly ingested the drug may prevent her from seeking help, the

help she needs, or may lead her to believe that she cannot seek the

justice she deserves. And the threat posed by these drugs we believe is also growing.

In the last year, the city of Atlanta Police Department has encountered over 200 cases involving club drugs, a designation that

includes not only GHB but Rohypnol, Ketamine and Ecstasy. And

in 1999 alone, the Georgia Poison Center received 26 Ketamine-related calls, 37 Rohypnol-related calls, and an astounding 265 GHBrelated calls. And 15 of the calls related to Rohypnol, and 20 of the

GHB calls specifically indicated that the exposure to the drug was

malicious in nature. Many of these calls also report that alcohol

was used concurrently with the drug.

I see that my time is up. I have some other statistics regarding

what we believe is a growing danger, and I also have three areas

of suggestions that I think that the Congress might examine in trying to eliminate this threat.

Mr. MICA. Thank you. We will get back to you on your recommendations. I would like to recognize now John Andrejko, who

is the Special Agent in Charge of our Drug Enforcement activities

here. Thank you and you are recognized.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Howard follows:]

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Mr. ANDREJKO. Good morning, Chairman Mica, and distinguished members of the committee. I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the emerging drug

threats facing the youth of America. I would first like to thank you

personally, and the committee for its continued support of the Drug

Enforcement Administration, and overall support of drug law enforcement. I do request that written testimony be accepted into the

record.

Mr. MICA. Without objection, your entire statement will be made

part of the record. Please proceed.

Mr. ANDREJKO. Thank you.

As you are well aware, the alarming spread of illegal drug abuse

by our youth is having a profound effect in communities throughout

the United States. It is fair to state that the increasing use of synthetic or club drugs, such as MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, GHB,

Ketamine, LSD and methamphetamine by young adults is quickly

becoming one of the most significant law enforcement and social

issues facing our Nation today. Perhaps most frightening is the decreased perception of risk that young teens have regarding the use

of these drugs.

Although all club drugs pose significant threats to our youth,

today I will focus upon the dangers of methamphetamine and

MDMA or Ecstasy. While methamphetamines are not an entirely

new problem in the United States, about 6 years ago an upsurge

of methamphetamine trafficking and abuse began taking hold in

many regions of the Nation, starting on the West Coast and rapidly

expanding throughout the United States.

DEA statistics indicate that in 1993, DEA seized a total 218

methamphetamine labs nationwide. Current DEA statistics indicate that in 1999, DEA alone seized 2021 clandestine laboratories

and that the total number of laboratories seized by Federal, State

and local law enforcement offices nationwide was 7,060. Methamphetamine clandestine laboratory seizures within DEA’s Atlanta

field division also have greatly increased. Five years ago, DEA

seized less than five methamphetamine laboratories, just in the

northern district of Georgia. In fiscal year 1999, a total of 34 laboratories were seized, and to date in the northern district of Georgia, a total of 44 laboratories have been seized in fiscal year 2000.

The majority of methamphetamine available for consumption in

the southeast area, and especially in Georgia, originates in Mexico,

California and Texas, and is transported via couriers by vehicles,

commercial tractor-trailers and commercial postal services. In the

last few years, a substantial amount of investigations initiated by

the DEA Atlanta field division involved methamphetamine distribution and increasingly more methamphetamine violators have

been arrested. The figures for those arrested have increased from

307 in fiscal year 1997 to 521 in fiscal year 2000. In 1996, the DEA

Atlanta field division seized a total of 54 pounds of methamphetamine. For the last 3 fiscal years, methamphetamine seizures have

continued to trend upward. For the last fiscal year, fiscal year

1999, DEA Atlanta seized 469 pounds of methamphetamine. Seizures for fiscal year 2000 are not final, but show a slight decrease.

As many of us know, the violence associated with methamphetamine trafficking and use has also produced a collateral impact on

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the crime statistics of communities across the United States. Methamphetamine-related violence usually results from the user under

the influence of the drug. Over the course of the last 2 years, the

national methamphetamine situation has changed significantly.

Until 1999, the methamphetamine problem was increasing at a

dramatic rate.

The national purity level for methamphetamine, as well as amphetamine, has gone down dramatically in 1999 to 2000. Precursor

chemical controls, international letter of non-objection program and

chemical interdiction, combined with aggressive national and local

law enforcement efforts has produced positive results.

We are cautiously optimistic. However the recent explosion of Ecstasy seizures and related emergency room episodes are of great

concern. Recent statistics indicate that between 1998 and 1999, use

of Ecstasy rose by a third among 10th graders and by 56 percent

among 12th graders.

Mr. Chairman, while Ecstasy abuse currently is not as widespread as that of many other drugs, it nonetheless increased at an

alarming rate; 800 percent over a 4-year period. Traditionally, the

Ecstasy drug market in the United States has been supplied and

controlled by western European-based traffickers. In recent years,

Israeli organized crime syndicates, some composed of Russian

emigres associated with Russian organized crime syndicates have

forged relationships with the western European traffickers.

What unites these drug trafficking organizations is the enormous

profit realized, along with the fact that MDMA is typically not produced in the United States. Although estimates vary, the cost of

producing an MDMA tablet can run between 50 cents to $1. By the

time the pill reaches U.S. soil, it can be sold for $25 to $40 per pill.

Thus a $10,000 investment can realize a potential profit of almost

$360,000.

Presently, DEA has several ongoing investigations into these

drug trafficking organizations. DEA’s Special Operations Division

conducted one such investigation. This investigation, entitled Operation Rave, focused on an MDMA distribution cell that operated

throughout the northeast and Florida. The leader of this organization, an Israeli national, was responsible for the distribution of approximately 150,000 tablets of MDMA per week.

This and related spin-off investigations resulted in the arrest of

105 defendants, the seizures of 620,000 tablets of MDMA and approximately $935,000 in U.S. currency. The significance of this investigation was the fact that it identified for the first time, the involvement of Israeli and Russian crime groups in MDMA trafficking. The MDMA situation in Georgia mirrors national trends.

MDMA is very popular among middle-class college-age students

who mistakenly perceive this designer drug to be harmless. In the

Atlanta metropolitan area, like in many other metropolitan cities

throughout the United States, MDMA is widely available in the

night club scene, at rave parties, college campuses and health fitness centers.

Even though a few MDMA laboratories have been seized in the

Atlanta field division, the bulk of MDMA pills available in the Atlanta metropolitan area are manufactured in the Netherlands,

transported overland to other European cities, and transshipped

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into this area via Canada and Mexico. The trafficking of MDMA in

the Atlanta area appears to be controlled by local drug traffickers

with connections to Russian and Israeli organized crime members.

Within the last few months, two major seizures of MDMA have

been made in the Atlanta metropolitan area. One totaled 70,000

pills and the other 30,000 pills. In addition, approximately 27,000

kilograms of MDMA was destined for distribution in the Atlanta

area and was seized by DEA.

These drug trafficking organizations control their operations

through sophisticated networks of production, distribution, money

laundering and security cells. Prosecuting these drug king pins

who command and control the organizations requires law enforcement to find some way to get inside their sophisticated structures

to obtain evidence of their crimes. Often the only feasible means of

infiltrating these structures is through the use of electronic surveillance. To effectively deploy these methods and to stay one step

ahead of the traffickers, law enforcement must be able to move on

available information as expeditiously as possible.

In conclusion, legislation such as House Bill H.R. 297, the Methamphetamine Proliferation Act of 1999 and companion Senate Bill

S. 486 which calls for the Sentencing Commission to amend guidelines, to increase penalties associated with manufacturing and trafficking of Ecstasy and an assessment of the abuse of and trafficking in GHB will be tremendous asset to law enforcement.

Again, I applaud the chairman for his unwavering dedication and

support to this serious issue. I thank you for providing me the opportunity to address the committee, and I look forward to taking

any questions you may have on this important issue.

Mr. MICA. Thank you. And we will withhold questions until we

have heard from our final witness, which is Robert Gattison. And

he is Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Office of U.S. Customs. Welcome, sir, and you are recognized.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Andrejko follows:]

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Mr. GATTISON. I would like to thank the committee for this opportunity to testify here today regarding the law enforcement activities of the U.S. Customs Service as they relate to the smuggling

of methamphetamine and date rape or club drugs.

As America’s front line, the Customs Service is uniquely positioned at the borders to identify, intercept and investigate the importation of large quantities of dangerous drugs which are smuggled into the United States through our ports of entry. We often

act as the early warning system in identifying new drug trends or

methods of operation employed by violators who attempt to smuggle drugs into the United States. The Customs Service has experienced a dramatic increase in our seizures, investigations and related arrests that focus on date rape or club drugs of all kinds. But

specifically the synthetic drug commonly known as Ecstasy.

The abuse of Ecstasy has spread throughout the United States

at an unprecedented level and can be primarily attributed to two

key factors. Its enormous profit and marketing techniques used by

criminal organizations who manufacture, smuggle and distribute it.

From a smuggler’s standpoint, Ecstasy is one of the most lucrative

drugs in the world. Tablets cost just pennies apiece to produce in

Europe. They can be sold on the streets of America for as much as

$40 a tablet. For an initial investment of just $100,000, an Ecstasy

smuggler can reap nearly $5 million in profit. The 9 million tablets

that U.S. Customs has seized thus far in fiscal year 2000 are

worth, at $30 per pill, approximately $270 million.

The profitability to import Ecstasy is enhanced because of its insidious marketing techniques that smugglers and distributors employ to lure teens into using these drugs. In our status conscious

society, tablets are designed with brand names and logos, such as

the Mitsubishi logo, the Rolex symbol, the Adidas emblem, the

Nike trademark, just to name a few.

To distinguish one’s competitor’s product from another, the logos

are specifically selected to appeal to the young and affluent Ecstasy

users. Nicknames for the club drugs, such as Ecstasy for MDMA,

Grievous Bodily Harm for GHB, Special-K for Ketamine, and

roofies for Rohypnol have an allure which make them attractive to

young adults. These seemingly benign trademarks and enticing

nicknames make it difficult for the user to associate the actual danger that the use of this hard drug can cause.

During fiscal 1999, U.S. Customs seized 3 million tablets of Ecstasy, more than seven times the 400,000 tablets that we seized in

1997. This upward surge continues in fiscal year 2000. We have already seized approximately 9 million tablets during the first 8

months of this year. This represents approximately a 22 percent increase from 1997.

Furthermore, during fiscal year to date, we have arrested over

280 individuals involved in Ecstasy smuggling relating to seizures

at our ports of entry. In addition to Ecstasy, in fiscal year 2000,

Customs has seized over 800 pounds of methamphetamine. This

represents more than an 800 percent increase over fiscal year 1999.

The vast majority of Ecstasy is produced in the Netherlands. The

Netherlands is to Ecstasy as Colombia is to cocaine. Smugglers export primarily from Amsterdam or across the uncontrolled borders

to neighboring European Union states, other international hubs,

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such as Brussels, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Paris or London. In the

Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has recently become a staging

area for Ecstasy destined for the United States from the Netherlands. Investigations and seizures activity by the Customs Service

has identified three primary gateway areas where Ecstasy is smuggled into the United States. These are New York, California and

Florida.

There is no coincidence that these areas have emerged as focal

points for Ecstasy smuggling. They are all transportation centers

with strong European ties. They all have large concentration of

young adults that are the primary target of consumers of Ecstasy,

and they are headquarters for criminal organizations that smuggle

Ecstasy. These groups use couriers from all walks of life to thwart

Customs. We have arrested teenagers, bankruptcy attorneys and

members of the clergy who have attempted to evade Customs inspection. Couriers have concealed Ecstasy in luggage, body cavities,

and have even ingested tablets wrapped in condoms.

There has been a dramatic rise in passenger air traffic through

Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport over the past few years,

placing Atlanta No. 1 in the world for passenger traffic. With this

overall increase in the total number of air travelers transiting into

and through Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta has been an

equally dramatic rise in the number of international passengers arriving into Atlanta from abroad.

Let me present some statistics that should illustrate just how

real the threat of Ecstasy smuggling in the United States through

Atlanta has become. In fiscal 1997, there were no recorded Ecstasy

seizures made by inspectors at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International

Airport. In fiscal 1998, inspectors made four separate seizures of

Ecstasy totaling approximately 33,600 individual tablets.

Fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2000 seizures statistics really illustrate

just how popular this drug has become here in the United States.

Inspectors made three seizures, Ecstasy seizures, in fiscal 1999 resulting in five arrests and the confiscation of over 85,800 tablets

of Ecstasy. Although the total weight of Ecstasy seizures slightly

decreased in fiscal 2000, the number of separate seizures and arrests for smuggling Ecstasy more than doubled. In fiscal year 2000

thus far, the Customs Service in Atlanta is responsible for seven

separate Ecstasy seizures resulting in the arrest of nine individuals

and the confiscation of approximately 57,420 tablets, valued at over

$1.1 million.

I brought several exhibits with me today to illustrate the concealment methods used to smuggle Ecstasy into the United States. Several of these exhibits were seized right here at Atlanta’s Hartsfield

International Airport. If I could pause for just 1 second, that is the

Mitsubishi symbol there. All of these seizures took place at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport.

The second chart shows the concealment methods. The bottom

left-hand corner being the use of the new x-ray machine that Customs now utilizes at some of the airports, and we do have one here

at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport.

Mr. BARR. What are we seeing there, in that one?

Mr. GATTISON. That is not an internal, sir.

Mr. BARR. It is taped to their body?

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Mr. GATTISON. It is taped to their body. Yes, sir.

Until recently, commercial air passengers presented the highest

risk for Ecstasy smuggling. However, in a recent series of large seizures at the express mail hubs in Memphis, as well as a large

number of smaller seizures at the express consignments and international mail facilities suggest that these may be the current method of choice for smuggling organizations.

Our seizures of Ecstasy and the followup investigations have

identified numerous criminal drug smuggling organizations that

are heavily involved in this highly profitable activity. Investigations have disclosed that the Israeli organized crime is heavily involved. And in addition to Israeli organized crime, there is intelligence that Mexican and Colombian traffickers are getting involved. The involvement of organized smuggling organizations require us to use the most sophisticated and often effective tools

available to monitor the activities of these syndicates. This often

includes wire taps, cell phone locators and dialed number reporters,

so forth an so on. These tools are critically important in our effort

to combat Ecstasy smuggling.

In order to coordinate and focus on investigations and enhance

the flow of intelligence to our inspectors on the front lines, we have

created an Ecstasy task force at Customs Headquarters in Washington. The task force is comprised of Customs inspectors, special

agents, intelligence analysts that work full time on Ecstasy investigations. The mission of the task force to manage the national and

international investigative activities of multi-jurisdictional cases,

maximize the level of case exploitation and support and enhance

day-to-day inspectional operations relative to Ecstasy smuggling.

We routinely coordinate with DEA and our foreign law enforcement counterparts. In addition, intelligence and seizure information on drug smuggling is exchanged on a weekly basis via

INTERPOL. In an effort to better deal with this emerging threat,

Commissioner Kelly has also created a Web site to get the awareness message out to the public.

Ecstasy has emerged as a very popular drug of abuse threatening

our Nation’s youth. Non-traditional organized crime primarily controls the Ecstasy manufacturing process in the Netherlands region

and the smuggling of this drug into and across our Nation’s borders.

I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to testify

here today and for your continuing support to our important mission. I am confident that working together, the people sitting at

this table can have an impact against Ecstasy smuggling. Thank

you.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Gattison follows:]

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Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Gattison.

Let me first call Mr. Paul Howard who is the District Attorney

for Fulton County. You had several recommendations you wanted

to make to the subcommittee. I would like to recognize you at this

time.

Mr. HOWARD. There are four things that I think the committee

ought to consider. First of all, I think that there should be some

definitive report which covers this area of unreporting, as it relates

specifically to date rape drugs. The normal figure that we look at,

as prosecutors, with sexual assaults, is probably about one-third of

the victims who failed to report. Many of the experts believe that

what we are talking about is probably as many as 80 percent of

the victims of date rape drugs who do not report the findings, or

do not report the criminal offense.

I mentioned that we held a short seminar with college leaders.

And one of the things that they reported is that they saw an increase in the number of young people that committed suicide, who

were depressed, who for some sudden reason became academically

uninvolved, and many of them thought that it had directly to do

with the use of date rape drugs.

So I think that there really needs to be more work done to find

out exactly how many people are not reporting it, and also to bring

to the public’s attention the great harm that is caused by the use

of the drugs, as we have heard from Mr. Harman.

My second recommendation is that we would really step up the

elimination of some of the sources of these drugs. And through the

Customs agency and through the DEA, I think that there ought to

be special divisions or units which concentrate on just these date

rape drugs. I think we ought to eliminate any representation vested in this country that these date rape drugs are somehow legitimate, either as used by veterinarians or use for body builders. I

now believe, and I am not sure about this, but as of 1999 as I understand it, GHB was not even on the Federal controlled drug list.

And I think that, if it is not, then it should be. As Rohypnol, it

should be a banned drug by Federal law. It is banned, I believe,

in about 21 States, and it should be done also under the Federal

Controlled Substances Act.

The third thing that I am recommending is that there ought to

be a great increase in the funding for education. I believe that

every State ought to have some protocol that specifically deals with

date rape drugs and how they ought to be handled, not only by the

medical authorities, but by the law enforcement authorities, and

the hospitals as well. I think that we have got to increase the general knowledge to the public, particularly as it involves young people, and as it involves young people who use and participate in

night club and bar activities. I think what we have got to do now

is increase the information among the judiciary, among prosecutors

and among law enforcement.

The last thing, in terms of the funding for education, I think that

we also ought to look at providing some kind of treatment or counseling for victims, victims like Mr. Harman’s daughter who spent

several years in a comatose state. I think that there ought to be

special kinds of treatment and counseling for those folks.

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Now the last thing, and the question was asked regarding whether or not we need an increased penalty or Federal penalty for the

defendants in date rape cases. Well, I believe that, probably as a

prosecutor, our main problem involves proof, and it involves the

use of consent, when our victims in many cases do not remember

exactly what has happened. And I think the Congress and the Federal Government might be very important and influential in working with local authorities to shape State laws to make sure that

they recognize this special circumstance. Because if you do not recognize this special circumstance of a victim who does not remember

what has happened, then it is possible to eliminate the possibility

that the defendant would ever be prosecuted.

Now I think there was some discussion about mandatory sentences. I think that we ought to retain mandatory sentences for

these crimes. Now one of the things, and one of the realities is, as

many of the speakers have pointed out, this is a middle-class drug

in many respects. And I think that if some of the laws on the books

right now were enforced, I think we might see some difference. And

I as a prosecutor would like to not see the focus on the dangers of

these drugs lessened by removing them from some structured sentence or mandatory category.

Thank you.

Mr. MICA. Thank you for those comments.

I wanted to go back to a question of source of what we are seeing

come into this area and the United States, and you testified, Mr.

Saliba, that the source of meth is predominantly Mexican organized crime, is that correct, still, or are you seeing local lab as the

production source?

Mr. SALIBA. We are seeing both, and I speak predominantly for

the areas of the northern suburbs. My counterparts in the other

counties, along with myself, have had discussions about this. But

I do not think that the local labs that we have found, what is not—

obviously we do not know how extensive that is. DEA has done a

good job of finding those, we do not know how many more are out

there. They are very active in that area. However the amounts of

methamphetamine that we are seeing, even at lower quality, are

not consistent with the small-type labs that are being found right

now in the jurisdictions that we serve. Now whether those are coming in from the super labs out in the western United States, or

straight in from Mexico, we do not know. Our sources indicate that

most of what is distributed, and our arrest statistics are being distributed by Mexican organized crime, when it gets up into the large

amounts.

Now once it gets into our counties, it is being distributed out

through the normal drug trafficking networks, it is cut down, percentages are cut down, it is distributed among dealers put on the

street. But our larger arrests have all been of folks predominantly

previously criminally deported aliens, predominantly folks that we

know have organized crime ties within those organizations. And

that appears to us to be the source of the methamphetamine that

we are seeing.

Now as I said, the actual place of manufacture, we do not know.

We only know who is distributing it.

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Mr. MICA. Since this is coming across the borders, a great deal

of it, across State borders at least we know, do you feel we have

adequate Federal resources, is there adequate cooperative efforts,

or is there some deficit that Congress is not addressing as far as

providing resources, funding, laws, to deal with the problem that

you have at hand?

Mr. SALIBA. I think there is a twofold problem. As I said, in the

area of Atlanta, we have excellent cooperation, with Customs, Drug

Enforcement Administration, with every Federal law enforcement

agency. Our task force has been up and running since 1980, and

since approximately that time, we have had an agent assigned to

one of the task force groups at the Drug Enforcement Administration.

I do not think, personally, that there are adequate resources for

any law enforcement agency, be it State or Federal, to handle what

is going on. The amount of profit that can be made off methamphetamine and the other synthetic drugs is enormous. They can

afford lots of things that we cannot. They can afford to lose a lot

of their product to law enforcement and a lot of it still makes it

to the street. I think every agency is doing what they can, but I

think funding, particularly for the Federal agencies, as well as

through the States to their agencies, would be of enormous assistance.

I think the other place where there should be a lot of help, and

I will echo the sentiments of Mr. Howard here, there are a lot of

places wherein we take jurisdiction over cases that are made jointly with Federal agents because we have stricter sentencing. There

are a lot of areas, predominantly MDMA, where the Federal guidelines have stricter sentencing.

I think there should be conformity brought between the Federal

Government, and I think the Federal Government should talk to

the State governments. You should not be allowed, depending on

who arrests you, or depending on which agency infiltrates your organization, to have a lesser penalty and to take your chances that

way. I think the disparity, and I think the criminals know the disparity, they know who is investigating them and they know what

kind of jail time they are actually doing.

The last thing I think that my boss, Pat Head, has done that I

think is extremely important is, we no longer, in Cobb County, do

sentences of illegal aliens involved in drugs that are suspendable

upon deportation. We insist that they serve their sentence in State

custody before they are remanded to the custody of the Immigration Service to be removed from this country. I think for a long

time, State agencies, as well as Federal agencies, have asked that

these people, for reasons of economy of scale, be removed from the

country. But they come right back. They know they are going to do

a year or two in jail, and that is the cost of doing business.

With State guidelines being what they are in trafficking, they are

now doing a minimum in Georgia of 10 years in jail, without possibility of parole. And I think that, in and of itself, might put some

of these folks out of business, or at least take a generation of drug

dealers at a time off the street, as we try to adapt to the problem.

I think also education is very important, and I think we are educating our children way too late. I think when you talk about tarVerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:48 Sep 10, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\74706.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1
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geting ad campaign at high school students, I think that is too late.

They may be the ones using the drugs, but they know when they

are in middle school what the upper-class students are doing. They

know what is socially acceptable. They know what will be accepted

and what will not. And I think we need to, just as we have with

all the other drugs in this country, we should target those ad campaigns at elementary and middle school children.

Mr. MICA. Thank you.

Let me move to Mr. Gattison, with the U.S. Customs Service. We

know that with Ecstasy, we are getting an incredible volume coming out of the Netherlands. Can you share with the subcommittee

the status of reopening the Customs Office in the Netherlands? Are

you aware of what is going on there?

Mr. GATTISON. Well, I am aware that the office was closed a few

years ago. I know we are looking into opening new offices around

the world.

Mr. MICA. Can you provide us with specific information, including the Director’s intention of reopening the Netherlands operation,

and to what degree, and what he needs to get that done?

Mr. GATTISON. I have no information specifically.

Mr. MICA. Can you provide that to this subcommittee?

Mr. GATTISON. Yes, I can.

Mr. MICA. We think it is very important. We visited during the

recess with the Dutch officials, and we have a big gap there. And

it is a huge transportation hub. They have also been handicapped

by having previously passed some liberalized narcotics legislation,

which they have now altered, but they are suffering some of the

consequences from it. And it is certain from your testimony that

continues to be the major production source of Ecstasy coming into

the United States. That is what you testified, is it not?

Mr. GATTISON. That is correct.

Mr. MICA. And you are seeing that stuff come in through

Hartsfield, and across the State lines here?

Mr. GATTISON. Southwest border of the United States, up into

the Atlanta area. There has been one particular investigation that

we can tie back to the Mexican border.

Mr. MICA. What about suggestions of having some more concentrated effort to deal with Ecstasy or certain drugs that we see

in surges? Of course, meth, and we have the problem of precursor

chemicals and other things coming in for meth production here, but

also meth coming across the border, Mexican organized crime involved in this. Is it wise for Customs to have a targeted effort for

these new waves of large quantity illegal narcotics, or continue sort

of with the plan that you now have?

Mr. GATTISON. Yes, it is. But we do that internally. When we

identify a trend or something to that effect, we locally reorganize

the office and put agents or assign agents full time to work in that

specific area. So yes, it is wise. But we do it internally within the

agency.

But also the task force in Washington is there to coordinate and

focus us on investigations nationwide and international.

Mr. MICA. We still remain concerned. We know that 80, 90 percent of the Ecstasy is coming out of the Netherlands. You have

identified Dutch and Israeli and other large operators here, and I

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know you have had some seizures. It sounds like we do not have

our plan entirely together to tackle this, if we do not have a concentrated effort in the Netherlands, which is the source of production. So if you would provide the subcommittee with a detailed outline of how you are going to approach this there, we would appreciate it, for the record.

Mr. Andrejko, you testified about some of the DEA enforcement

efforts, and I think you also testified about the difficulty in dealing

with the GHB problem?

Mr. ANDREJKO. Yes.

Mr. MICA. How do we deal with this new designer drug and how

can we most effectively deal with enforcement? And I think you

heard the difficulty the local District Attorney had in trying to

prosecute cases where the evidence literally and the means for

committing the crime renders the victim unable to testify or to be

a witness under the current criteria. How do we deal with this

from a drug enforcement standpoint?

Mr. ANDREJKO. To address the initial part of your question——

Mr. MICA. And you did compliment us on the legislation before.

Does this adequately address the concerns that you have heard

raised here today?

Mr. ANDREJKO. The pending legislation certainly is very supportive. GHB was put under the Controlled Substances Act back in

February of the year 2000, it was made a Schedule 2 drug. And as

a result of the concerns of the Congress and of the Attorney General, DEA was tasked with trying to put together some type of an

enforcement mechanism to report what is going on with regard to

the use and abuse of GHB in the United States.

And what we did in our operations division in Washington, DC,

was put together a team of law enforcement officials, both from the

office of operations agents, intelligence analysts, diversion investigators, working very closely with State and local offices to try and

identify those individuals who have been manufacturing and distributing GHB and other club drugs throughout the United States.

That information is being reviewed, it is being shared with the

Attorney General. I believe she is going to be reporting back to

your committee and to other elements in Congress the result of

what those initial findings have been.

With regard to what we can do in law enforcement to try develop

evidence to bring to a courtroom to have the victim and the episode

that the person underwent result in a conviction, it is very difficult

to try to answer that question from my perspective.

Mr. MICA. I think Mr. Howard brought up an interesting aspect

of the problem that we face in these prosecutions. I do not think

that the law, as I have seen drafted, deals with that. It is a very

unique aspect of dealing with a problem that has surfaced. Almost

the drug is eliminating the witness’s memory or ability to testify,

and I do not know of any legislation that we have or anything that

has been proposed that deals with something like that. It may be

something we want to pursue and see if there is something that

could be included, and I think we may have a shot at passing that

legislation before the Congress recesses. But if you have any suggestions, we would certainly welcome them, by Mr. Howard and

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Mr. Saliba, maybe you could look at that. And we would be most

willing to explore some tightening of the law.

Mr. ANDREJKO. Increasing penalties for those who are convicted

of trafficking in club drugs would certainly help. It would certainly

send the right message. Perhaps looking at some of the threshold

amounts that are set by the prosecution offices in the United

States could be an advantageous element to law enforcement, to try

to go ahead and maybe lower the amounts which would allow them

prosecution on the Federal level.

We have been very successful, for example, in targeting traffickers who have been the violent drug traffickers throughout the

United States, throughout our local enforcement program, our met

team program. And when we have been able to go ahead and use

the Federal laws to target those individuals on the convictions, we

have looked at the statistics that deal with, for example, violence

and drug use in those communities prior to a meth deployment,

and then after the meth deployment. And we have seen that those

numbers, overall throughout the United States, have decreased.

I think you all are aware of the fact, I am sure you are aware

of the fact that, in many communities, the individuals who are the

violent criminals, those individuals that commit the most violent

criminal acts. If you could target those individuals, identify them,

arrest them and put them in jail, there seems to be a decrease then

in the resulting amount of violence in the area.

If we could use the same type of logic perhaps with regard to

club drug manufacturers and distributors, perhaps we could have

a positive impact on what is going on in this country and other

areas of the world today.

Mr. MICA. Thank you. Let me yield now to Mr. Barr, if I may.

Mr. BARR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank our

four panel members here, and it reminds me once again why I appreciate your holding these field hearings outside of Washington,

DC. We have four gentlemen here who work very hard at actually

solving the problems in our community, and they are not so much

concerned about what the Washington Post might say about them,

or the policy spin of people in Washington. They are concerned

with results and their work speaks for themselves. And I appreciate very much them being here with us today to relate some of

the specific experiences that they have had on the front lines.

One of those, Mr. Howard, that I remember from the news, and

I was intrigued by your brief description of the Iverson case. In

that case, was there any evidence that the victims, the two women

victims, had ingested the drugs for the purposes of being raped?

Mr. HOWARD. No.

Mr. BARR. Is this—and I know, as you have relayed in this, I remember in the retrial, the defendants were acquitted, and you also

indicated here that the judge seemed to have some sort of feeling

that the victims were as much to blame for what happened as the

defendants. Do you see this in other type of drug cases, where you

have a perpetrator and a victim, and the victim takes the mindaltering drugs, yet then becomes a victim to acts to which they obviously did not consent, or is this a phenomena that you are seeing

with regard to date rape drugs?

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Mr. HOWARD. It is mainly something that is focused upon date

rape drugs. And unfortunately, it still relates back to the misconception about rape itself, that many people unfortunately still

think that part of the blame lies with the victim and not with the

defendant. So you can easily see how, in a case involving a date

rape drug, where in this case, where these two young ladies ingested it, simply they thought for recreational reasons, to get a

mild high. The feeling of the judge was that it was the victim’s

fault. And that causes—it has caused us a lot of problems, because

that incident took place in 1998. We tried it in 1999.

Even though the police in Atlanta reported a number, and I believe over 200 incidents involving these drugs, we have had only

5 cases reported at the rape crisis center at Grady. And I think

that it has had the chilling effect of saying to the victims that, if

you come to court, then you might be seen as the person who was

at fault.

Mr. BARR. I think you were here for the previous panel, at least

part of their testimony. And one of the witnesses spoke about different types of rape kits that can be used and many of which are

in common usage in this country and which do not provide the

means to readily identify some of these date rape drugs.

Are there kits that are available, are they in common usage or

are they cost prohibitive at this point, or for some other reason not

in common usage?

Mr. HOWARD. There are kits available and they do cost more.

And in fact, even with something as mundane as a urinalysis examination to test for the methamphetamines, there is an additional

cost, a cost that is higher than testing for cocaine and marijuana.

So there is an additional cost that many—since the rape kits are

generally paid for by law enforcement agencies, many of them have

not updated those rape kits to include the test for date rape drugs.

But here again, we have got two other factors that are working.

One is the fact that the drug will get out of your system within

about 12 hours. And so that is why I think that it is important that

the protocols be put together which include the medical community

so that they will realize that we need to test and retrieve this kind

of evidence right away. The other factor that we still are involved

with is the under-reporting or the lack of reporting or even reporting on a timely basis, because even if you report the incidents and

it is after that time period, there is no way that we can test to find

out whether or not the drug is in your system.

Mr. BARR. Given the fact that we know there is under-reporting

and it is not really a new phenomenon, can a case such as the

Iverson case do tremendous damage in your effort to try and get

people to report these cases more?

Mr. HOWARD. I think it does. I think particularly when you take

this case in that we actually had an eye-witness, the security person from Georgia State, who came in, who responded to the 911

call, actually witnessed the sexual assault. And I think it does have

a chilling effect and I think it has had one in our community, when

women see this and believe that there is really no reason for me

to report it.

You know, that is why I think that it is important that the education extend not only to the general public and young people, but

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it also should extend to our judiciary, to prosecutors and to law enforcement as well.

Mr. BARR. Speaking of that, have there been any efforts made at

the State level to take a look at both funding for some of these

issues such as the better date rape kits, the rape kits, or to look

at some of the problems that you have identified today with regard

to prosecution of some of these cases? Is there anything pending at

the State general assembly or at the Governor’s office?

Mr. HOWARD. I think right now there is a move—and I think Ms.

Flowers mentioned that there is a proposal that I am aware of— where they are asking for a separate facility from Grady Hospital,

one that would be operated by nurses as opposed to within the hospital complex, that is focused simply on the care of women and

their reporting. Now that is going on.

I am not aware of any effort in the State that is afoot to change

the proof problems that prosecutors run into. The only other effort

is also something that Ms. Flowers mentioned, is the effort to reduce the sentence for the crime of rape.

As you are aware, right now in the State of Georgia, there is simply one crime and that is the crime of rape and the sentence is

from zero to 20 years and a mandatory minimum of 10 years.

There has been some effort made and an effort made last year to

actually include the crime of aggravated assault with intent to

rape, which many people believe will generate some new sentences.

But those are the only things that I am aware of that are taking

place.

Mr. BARR. I forget which one, Mr. Andrejko or Mr. Gattison,

mentioned the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act that we

have passed out of Judiciary Committee, I do not think that it has

come up, has it, Mr. Chairman, on the floor of the House yet?

Mr. MICA. I believe that is correct.

Mr. BARR. We hope to get that through. If we cannot, we will

work on it again next year, but we are trying to deal with some

of this at the national level as well.

I forget which one of you mentioned this, or maybe more than

one of you, the problem with the accessibility or availability of

these drugs through the Internet. Is this a problem that is manifesting itself in alarming proportions with young people being— having access to the Internet and getting these drugs?

Mr. GATTISON. Yes, I think it is a problem because they can shop

online and they can order stuff overseas online and come in

through mail facilities right to their homes without ever leaving

their library or study or wherever they have their computers.

Also there is advertisement for these drugs on the Internet

where individuals can go again and advertise and shop and buy.

Mr. BARR. What are they identified as? Do they use some of

these benign sounding terms that we have heard about?

Mr. GATTISON. That is correct.

Mr. BARR. I mean they do not advertise them as date rape drugs,

or do they?

Mr. GATTISON. No, they advertise them with the slang name

roofies, things of that nature. I know you are aware of our smuggling center in Washington that pretty much surfs the net looking

for all types of international crime and they have identified several

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sites out there on the Web where they are selling primarily Ecstasy.

Mr. BARR. Are current laws sufficient to address this problem

when you see a concerted effort to sell these drugs over the Internet or are there changes that would need to be made to Federal

law to address that specific problem. And I know it is difficult,

given first amendment concerns, but are these cases being prosecuted, do you know?

Mr. GATTISON. Well, I think they are, I think as best they can

be prosecuted. We are working with the Web site owners in giving

us information and identifying those individuals involved in that

and then we are also going and doing some undercover work on the

Internet, attempting to purchase quantities and identifying people

overseas and in the United States that are involved in that, and

hopefully getting them prosecuted for smuggling charges and other

Title 21 violations.

I think, John, you may want to address that a little bit as well.

Mr. ANDREJKO. A problem that we are seeing on the Internet is

really dealing with the manufacturing process with methamphetamine. It is very, very easy to manufacture methamphetamine and

what you find on the Internet are how-to formulas, if you will. If

we were trying to—if I tried, for example, to convert the coca paste

into the coca paste—I mean the coca leaf into the coca paste into

the base into the hydrochloride, or if you got the opium poppy and

tried to manufacture that into the morphine and refine it into heroin, it is a very difficult process that I could not do, none of us

probably in this room could do because it requires a tremendous

amount of chemical knowledge on an individual’s part. But with regard to methamphetamine, anyone can make it very, very easily.

You do not need a college education for it, you do not need a degree

in chemistry. You can be an elementary school dropout and it is a

very easy process to follow. It can be made in the back of a hotel

room, in the back of a truck, in a garage or someone’s house. So

we are seeing more and more information on how to make, for example, how to manufacture methamphetamine on the Internet.

And the lab locations where we have responded, including here

in the State of Georgia, we have had printouts from the Internet

on how to go ahead and manufacture this stuff. That documentation was seized at the lab site itself.

Mr. HOWARD. Congressman Barr.

Mr. BARR. Yes, sir?

Mr. HOWARD. I just want to mention to you that probably most

prosecutors are using a manual provided by the American Prosecutors Research Institute that talks specifically about Rohypnol and

the other GHB and the other date rape drugs. And I think they

issued this in 1998 and at the time that they issued it, what the

prosecutors complained about is the issuance of these drugs

through the mail. And I guess it shows how much times have

changed, because they mention just in passing that the recipes are

on the Internet, as Mr. Andrejko says, but now you can find them

all over the Internet, recipes to put together these drugs.

One of the things that I think is particularly interesting is that

in I believe about 70 foreign countries, the drug Rohypnol is in fact

legal and so it is legal—it is used as a sedative and as a sleeping

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pill, and so it is legal for them to produce it in those countries. And

I think, it seems to me, that one of the areas that Congress might

look at is whether or not American drug manufacturers are manufacturing these drugs in foreign countries that are later on being

shipped back to this country and used as date rape drugs.

Mr. BARR. That is a problem that we had some testimony on a

couple of years ago. It is a very serious problem.

Mr. Andrejko, does DEA have a special unit to address the problem of date rape drugs?

Mr. ANDREJKO. We have a special unit in our headquarters

building set up to go ahead and coordinate what is going on

throughout our domestic divisions in the United States, to report

back then to that unit that will compile the data and then bring

that data to the attention of the Attorney General, who my understanding is supposed to share that information with the Congress.

There is a special operation called Flashback, which is the name

of the program that goes ahead and tracks that information, that

will go ahead and assess that information, give directions out to

the DEA divisions to go ahead and work closely with the State and

local agencies to try to learn from them what is actually happening

on the State and local level to try to identify those individuals or

trafficking groups who perhaps are manufacturing and distributing

the date rape drugs, try to design an enforcement program to go

ahead and address those issues, but at the same time relate back

to the Attorney General, to the DEA Administrator, what it is we

are seeing in the United States. That is an ongoing process that

began sometime around June-July, the summer months, of this

year. And it is a program that we are waiting to see what the final

results will be, but I believe it was mandated for the Attorney General to go ahead and do that and DEA was given the focal point

for that type of reporting element.

Mr. BARR. There are two programs, one which I am very familiar

with because it was operational while I was the U.S. Attorney, and

that is the OCDETF program, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces. There is another one, the HIDTA or High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

Do these two programs coordinate with each other and is the

HIDTA program the most effective way, in your view, to address

the problem of intensive drug trafficking in certain areas?

Mr. ANDREJKO. In my opinion, they are complementary programs. When you have a HIDTA in operation in an area, for example, like Atlanta and targets are identified and then prosecutions

take place, the prosecutions that occur are brought through the

OCDETF program, so one complements the other, so to speak. Two

different types of funding mechanisms, however. And what you

have is the HIDTA program looking at some of the trafficking

groups dealing with limited areas within a particular city. You may

have the OCDETF program trying to encompass a much larger aspect of what the drug problem is. And I mention that in passing

because the HIDTA program in Atlanta focuses just on two counties, Fulton County and DeKalb County. So by design, this particular HIDTA program has to deal with law enforcement issues in

those two counties. The OCDETF program, however, encompasses

all of the different districts throughout the State and can go into

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more jurisdictional investigations as well very freely without some

of the restraints that sometimes you see in a HIDTA, depending on

what its mission and goal is.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Macklin with our committee staff, just a little bit

ago handed me an article here that just came in talking about Ecstasy use in the armed forces. I know we do not have anybody here

from DOD but Mr. Gattison and Mr. Andrejko, is this a problem

that you are seeing or are you more aware of the increasing problem of date rape drugs in our armed forces?

Mr. ANDREJKO. I do not have any information with regard to that

aspect. However, we could get in touch with our headquarters intelligence division, ask them to research that and provide you with

a response.

Mr. BARR. Thank you, I would appreciate that if we could, Mr.

Chairman. That is an angle that apparently is becoming more of

a problem as well.

On the earlier panel we spent some amount of time talking about

the national message, for example, through the OCDETF advertising program and we have held some hearings, the chairman has

held some hearings in Washington focusing on that. But we heard

that it would be very helpful, from some of the other witnesses, to

try and do a better job of targeting for educational purposes the advertising for date rape drugs, methamphetamine, more locally. Particularly from the standpoint of our local prosecutors, Mr. Saliba

and Mr. Howard, would this be of benefit and do you have any particular suggestions as to how we might better get those funds to

you so that you can use them better to address specific problems

on which the public needs to be educated in your communities?

Mr. SALIBA. I believe it needs to be done. I will let Mr. Howard

address the funding. He is obviously in his position much more involved in that than I am in mine. But to give the committee an example, I have a 16-year-old niece and a 12-year-old nephew who I

have the privilege and sometimes duty of chaperoning to different

events. Last weekend—she is from a small town in Alabama, about

50,000 folks—I took her and a group of her friends to a concert

down in Atlanta. And during that concert, I had a chance to talk

to them and take them out to dinner. They all understand and

have been raised properly that they should not do drugs, but the

questions they were asking, based on my position, was things like

is Ecstasy really that bad. You know, we know about cocaine, we

know about marijuana, methamphetamine though is not the same

thing, is it, although it has the exact same chemical effect. And I

think that shows the deficiency that over the years has developed,

in that what necessarily by the time funding is completed, the ad

campaigns are completed, a generic ‘‘do not do drugs’’ I do not

think tells them what they need to know. I think that money

should come down through whatever process to the States to do

what one of the prior panelists suggested, find out what is needed

in each area.

In the area I prosecute in, we have done a good job of educating

people of the dangers of cocaine; there are a lot of our youth that

do not understand that Ecstasy really is a drug and it really is

harmful. And I think it goes beyond any given drug, it goes to a

year-to-year trend, what is popular at that time, what is available.

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And I think that that is an area where the States are uniquely

qualified to determine that need and to handle that type of program and I think that it definitely needs to be done and it needs

to be moved down more to a local level to affect more of our young

people. Those are the folks who grow older, who grow into the drug

business, if they are already using drugs. And I think the earlier

we start and the more directed that message is, the better we are.

Mr. BARR. Thank you. Mr. Howard.

Mr. HOWARD. I agree. I believe that it is critical because what

you get the feeling is that what you are fighting is popular culture.

And what goes on in our music and entertainment industries, there

is a message that these drugs are OK, where some drugs might be

seen as illegal—crack cocaine. And I think we need to change that

message and one of the things that I pointed out is showing people

the deadly harm that results from the use of what they believe is

simply a recreational drug that is used to create a mild high.

I think that what ought to happen, the sources, the grants that

are already being made available to the States, I just think that

the amounts ought to be increased and there ought to be some specifically designated items just for this purpose. And I think that

they ought to be made available to prosecutors, but it is also a good

idea to make them available to agencies like the Georgia Task

Force on Sexual Assaults, so that they will work in conjunction

with prosecutors to get out the right messages.

Mr. BARR. Just in conclusion, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Andrejko, Mr.

Gattison, do you agree with that and are there some specific things

that you can suggest to us from the Federal standpoint that we

could be doing to help you in that cooperative effort in trying to

sort of customize and localize that message particularly because of

the misinformation and misimpression that is out there about this

very dangerous category of drugs?

Mr. ANDREJKO. I think there is. I think more emphasis and resources have to be devoted to that area. Back in the latter part of

July and the early part of August, the DEA recognized that there

was a major problem, really not only in the United States but

throughout the world with regard to Ecstasy and dangerous drugs

and club drugs and all. We convened a panel of experts from the

world, if you will, the international community in Washington, DC.

Over 300 people attended, people from all facets of both State, Federal and local level and the international community.

One of the panelists had made a presentation with regard to

something that Mr. Howard referred to a little bit, and that was

when they went onto the Internet and you go into the information

bases there, there were so many positive things talked about, referred to, shown as examples, with regard to the designer drugs

and there was nothing on the Internet for example to counteract

that. And the only program I think that was trying to do that was

the program out of ONDCP. They were trying to put together a series of commercial and other information to go into the Internet

starting some time in the fall. So there is a tremendous amount of

money that had to be generated to do something with regard to

commercials worldwide or even just domestically in the United

States.

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I know Dr. Alan Leshner with the NIDA program also was trying

to, on a case-by-case basis as he had gone ahead and uncovered

statistics and studies and results of the debilitating effects of these

drugs on the human body, tried to get it onto the Internet and

start to put as much of that information out there for generally

used purposes, so to speak. But there is not enough in my opinion,

also, with regard to that area with demand reduction and with

drug education and so forth. And whatever we could do to bring it

down to the local level would be very beneficial in my opinion as

well.

Mr. GARRISON. To follow up on that, I mentioned earlier about

the Commissioner’s Web site, the Commissioner has initiated his

Web site where he is trying to address that same issue with parents, getting the message out to the public that it is a harmful

drug. We also have the task force again that feeds information to

the Commissioner and also to people to place that on the Web site.

And again, the chairman’s question earlier about resources for

specific types of violations, you know, you can only do so much with

what you have and when you have a trend or you have a problem

like we have here at Atlanta’s Hartsfield, you take what you have

and you focus it in on those particular problems, and then you do

the best you can. But of course, if we had additional resources, we

could come up with specific groups to target, specific problems like

Ecstasy in this area.

Mr. BARR. You referred there to the problem at Hartsfield, just

for the record, I think there has been a lot of information and perhaps misinformation about it, the bottom left picture there of the

x ray. It is my understanding that that device is used only with

the consent of the person, is that correct?

Mr. GATTISON. That is correct.

Mr. BARR. So it is not that everybody that goes through

Hartsfield has these x rays. There has to be probable cause, an

articulable suspicion and so forth to request the person and they

have to consent to it.

Mr. GATTISON. Right. They have a choice. If there is reasonable

suspicion that a violation is occurring, the inspector gives the passenger the option whether to be personally searched by an individual inspector or go through the x-ray machine and it has to be concurred by the supervisory inspector on duty at the time.

Mr. BARR. Thank you. Just one final question. We have heard

some testimony with regard to the Mexican angle to the methamphetamine trafficking in particular. Mr. Saliba and Mr. Howard,

is that problem, from an immigration standpoint, being adequately

addressed? Are you getting the support that you need when you

find folks in your communities that are prosecuted or that need to

be prosecuted and that are here in this country illegally, such as

in this case from Mexico. Do you get the cooperation and the Federal resources that you need from an immigration standpoint to assist you?

Mr. HOWARD. Well, I can just say that we have had probably the

greatest amount of cooperation from the FBI. Usually what happens with us is that we have a defendant who flees from our jurisdiction to escape prosecution. And we have had on many occasions

to call upon the FBI to assist us in trying to locate them. With the

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Immigration Service, the problem in Atlanta has been one of so

many people and so few resources. And I am sure you are familiar

with the claim that if you call the office, the telephone will just

ring. But the problem, as we have seen it, is just that there have

been so many people.

So as my colleague has mentioned, what has been the policy for

many years in our State was to just send them back. We have seen

this on many occasions, the same people that are returned to countries, in the next year they are right back causing the very same

problems. And it is compounded by the fact that our prison system

is so overcrowded. So people are taking whatever avenues are

available to get defendants taken care of in some other means.

But I think that most of our problems with immigration probably

have to do, in my experience, with just the large numbers of people

that we all have to deal with.

Mr. SALIBA. I concur that they are—for years, we have had an

Immigration agent stationed one or the other of the pretrial detention facilities in Cobb County, and they do what they can, but there

are so many folks that are arrested that have to have detainers put

on them, so many that go through the system and either plead

guilty or are convicted, that they cannot possibly, with the resources they have, handle every case as well as they would like to.

They are very cooperative, but I think the old saying is undermanned and over-worked. But as an agency, they have been very

good to our local law enforcement folks when they could.

Mr. BARR. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would

like to again thank the panel members.

Mr. MICA. Well, first of all, I want to thank Representative Barr

again for inviting us into his community to examine the problem

of illegal narcotics and in particular today the methamphetamine

and date rape drug situation.

I also want to thank the representatives of the two Federal agencies who appeared as witnesses—the U.S. Customs Service and

Drug Enforcement Administration. We have a responsibility as an

oversight and investigation subcommittee to make certain that our

Federal agencies’ programs, operations, funding are adequate and

also effective.

And I do want to particularly thank the two representatives of

the District Attorney Offices here today, the local offices, for your

insight. It is important that the programs that we oversee mesh

and work effectively with local and State programs and also, as Mr.

Barr said, all the best ideas do not emanate from Washington, DC,

so we need your cooperation, your recommendations and we appreciate again you coming forward today to provide us with your

input.

And to the other panelists who were with us earlier, we also appreciate their testimony.

As I said earlier, and under a unanimous consent request from

Mr. Barr, the record will remain open for this subcommittee for additional testimony, comments, statements through the Chair for a

period of 2 weeks and those additions will be provided to the permanent record.

Also, I would like to ask Mr. Gattison to please provide the subcommittee with information particularly on the re-establishment of

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the Customs operations, which are very important to the subcommittee.

Mr. Barr, there being no further business to come before this

Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, I declare this meeting adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 12:25 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

[Additional information submitted for the hearing record follows:]

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