III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 434 

Designating the week of February 10–16, 2008, as ‘‘National Drug 

Prevention and Education Week’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2008 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. KERRY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. ROBERTS, 

Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. CASEY, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating the week of February 10–16, 2008, as ‘‘National 

Drug Prevention and Education Week’’. 

Whereas recent survey data suggests that illegal drug use 

among youth has declined by 24 percent since 2001; 

Whereas, despite the reduction in drug use among youth, the 

number of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who use drugs remains too high and the rates of prescription and overthe-counter drug abuse are alarming; 

Whereas the overall rate of current illegal drug use among 

persons aged 12 or older is 8.3 percent, which has remained stable since 2002; 


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•SRES 434 IS 

Whereas ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or 

MDMA) use among high school age youth has been rising 

since 2004; 

Whereas, while methamphetamine use is down among 8th, 

10th, and 12th graders, many counties across the country still report that methamphetamine is a serious drug 

problem; 

Whereas 25 percent of youth in the 10th grade reported the 

use of marijuana during the past year; 

Whereas youth who first smoke marijuana under the age of 

14 are more than 5 times as likely to abuse drugs in 

adulthood; 

Whereas nearly 6 percent of 12th graders have used over-thecounter cough and cold medications in the past year for 

the purpose of getting high; 

Whereas Vicodin remains one of the most commonly abused 

drugs among 12th graders, with 1 in 10 reporting nonmedical use within the past year; 

Whereas teenagers’ and parents’ lack of understanding of the 

potential harms of these powerful medicines makes it 

even more critical to raise public awareness about the 

dangers associated with their non-medical use; 

Whereas the rates of use for any illegal drug are directly related to the perception of harm and social disapproval; 

Whereas more than 20 years of research has demonstrated 

that prevention interventions, designed and tested to reduce risk and enhance protective factors, can help children at every step along their developmental path, from 

early childhood into young adulthood; 


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•SRES 434 IS 

Whereas prevention efforts should be flexible enough to address and prevent local problems before they become national trends; 

Whereas research has demonstrated that there are 4 major 

targets of prevention: youth, parents, schools (including 

colleges and universities), and communities and social environments that must be reinforced by each other to have 

the greatest effect in deterring the consequences of drug 

use; 

Whereas a comprehensive blend of individually and environmentally focused efforts must be adopted and a variety 

of strategies must be implemented across multiple sectors 

of a community to reduce drug use; 

Whereas community anti-drug coalitions are an essential 

component of any drug prevention and education campaign because they are data driven, know their community epidemiology, and are capable of understanding and 

implementing the multi-sector interventions required to 

reduce the availability and use of drugs; 

Whereas community anti-drug coalitions help to change community norms, laws, policies, regulations, and procedures 

to create an environment that discourages the use of 

drugs; 

Whereas school-based prevention programs should be part of 

a comprehensive community wide approach to deal with 

drug use; 

Whereas the more successful we are at general prevention of 

drug use in younger adolescents, the less we will have to 

deal with the concomitant economic and societal consequences of their use; 


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•SRES 434 IS 

Whereas the total economic cost of drug, alcohol, and tobacco 

abuse in the United States is more than 

$500,000,000,000; 

Whereas the savings per dollar spent on substance abuse prevention rather than on substance abuse treatment are 

substantial, and can range from $2.00 to $20.00; 

Whereas there will always be new and emerging drug trends 

that require additional prevention and education efforts; 

Whereas preventing drug use before it begins and educating 

the public about the dangers of drug use is a critical 

component of what must be a consistent and comprehensive effort to stunt and decrease drug use rates throughout the country; and 

Whereas thousands of community anti-drug coalition leaders 

and community based substance abuse prevention, treatment, and education specialists come to Washington, DC 

to receive state-of-the-art technical assistance, training, 

and education on drug prevention at the Community 

Anti-Drug Coalition of America’s Annual National Leadership Forum in February: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the week of February 10–16, 

3 2008, as ‘‘National Drug Prevention and Education 

4 Week’’; and 

5 (2) urges communities, schools, parents, and 

6 youth to engage in, and carry out, appropriate pre7 vention and education activities and programs to re8 duce and stop drug use before it starts. 

Æ 


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