I am confident John will bring strong leadership to our efforts to cut drug use. That was just one demonstration of committed leadership at the national level. Drug use declined by more than a third in the wake of the Reagan-Bush effort, and teen drug use, the pipeline to future addiction, dropped even faster. In fact, drug use in America has declined by 45 percent since 1985. Drug prevention, education, and interdiction can make a tangible difference in the supply and use of drugs in this country.
Moral leadership is critical.
Unfortunately, the overall decline in drug use obscures a rise in drug consumption of 15 percent during the last seven years and a near doubling of teen drug use over the past 8 years. John Walters' emphasis on targeting both drug supply and demand through effective drug treatment programs, and his laudable call for cultural leadership in fending off illegal narcotics' assault on our blessed youth, will help reverse years of drift in our counter-drug policies. I hope he can also play a useful role in refining our drug interdiction strategy in the Andean region and reforming a drug certification law that does more to hinder than help our drug reduction efforts overseas. I look forward to John's leadership on these issues, backed by the personal support of the President, and commend his speedy confirmation to my colleagues.