Amador Guzman, from my state of Utah, told us how he believes the club in his neighborhood saved his life, by keeping him from gangs, drugs, and violence. The reason Boys and Girls Clubs work, and the Republican Congress wants to do more for them is because they are locally run, and depend mostly on community involvement for their success. Never have our youth had a greater need for the positive influence of Boys and Girls Clubs, and never has the work of the Clubs been more critical. Our young people are being assaulted from all sides with destructive messages. For instance, drug use is on the rise.
Recent statistics reconfirm that drugs are ensnaring young people as never before.
Overall drug use by youth ages 12 to 17 rose 105 percent between 1992 and 1995, and 33 percent between 1994 and 1995. 10.9 percent of our young people now use drugs on a monthly basis, and monthly use of marijuana is up 37 percent, monthly use of LSD is up 54 percent, and monthly cocaine use by youth is up 166 percent between 1994 and 1995. Our young people are also being assaulted by gangs. By some estimates, there are more than 3,875 youth gangs, with 200,000 members, in the nation's 79 largest cities, and the numbers are going up. Even my State of Utah has not been immune from this scourge.