Remarks Announcing the
Campaign Against Drug Abuse and a Question-and-Answer
Session With Reporters
The President. Good afternoon. During
one of my first press conferences as President, I pledged that fighting drug
abuse would be a major goal of our administration.
So
much has been accomplished, and I am encouraged that so many others from every
walk of life are now joining the struggle. And yet drug use continues. And its
consequences escalate, claiming so many victims, including promising young
athletes, and bringing sorrow and heartbreak into homes across our country.
Drug use threatens the health and safety of millions of Americans, it extracts
a high cost -- the cost of crime stemming from drugs, the cost of drug-related
health problems, the cost in productivity, the cost in
the quality of American manufactured goods as we compete on the world market --
but most of all the cost in lives. Drugs, in one way or the other, are
victimizing all of us. And that's why I am here today: to announce six major
goals of what we hope will be the final stage in our national strategy to
eradicate drug abuse. I should point out that each of these goals includes a
number of Federal policy options that I will mention as we go along. But as you
know, I've always insisted that such steps be the subject of a full discussion
and debate within the administration before any final decisions as made.
So,
I will talk today of goals and a number of specific steps, and we'll have
further announcements in the very near future. But I want you to know that our
announcements will deal not just with what government will do, but what all of
us will do -- and must do. For the key to our antidrug
strategy -- my very reason for being here this afternoon -- is not to announce
another short-term government offensive, but to call instead for a national
crusade against drugs, a sustained, relentless effort to rid
I
believe we've come to a time when the American people are willing to make it
clear that illegal drug and alcohol use will no longer be tolerated, a time
when we will take those steps necessary to rid
If
this battle is to be won -- and it must -- each and every one of us has to take
a stand and get involved. Leadership and commitment must be evident, not only
in the White House and the statehouse but also in the pulpit, at the workplace,
in the union hall, in our schools, and in the media. If we're to defeat this
enemy, we've got to do it as one people, together united in purpose and
committed to victory. And victory in this case is a drug-free generation. Those
who know this country understand that once the American people set their minds
to something, there's nothing we can't accomplish. Precisely because the
realization is finally taking hold that drugs threaten our nation,
neighborhoods, and families, the time has come for a national mobilization, one
that strikes now at the heart of the problem.
In
1982 we released our first strategy, a Federal strategy. We revised it and made
it a national strategy in September 1984. Today I'm announcing six initiatives
to build on what we've accomplished and lead us toward a drug-free
Our
first goal is to seek a drug-free workplace for all Americans. Progress in this
area is needed to protect working people and the public and to increase the
productivity of our country. It's particularly important that workers in
sensitive occupations are clearminded and free from
the effects of illegal drugs. To accomplish this we propose to create a
drug-free workplace for all Federal employees; to encourage State and local
government to follow the Federal Government's example; to solicit commitments
from government contractors to establish drug-free work environs; to mobilize
management and labor leaders in the private sector to fight this problem.
Our
second goal is drug-free schools, from grade schools through universities. Four
major steps are being considered: enlisting the help of local educators and
school officials; making certain that Federal laws against distributing drugs
in or near schools are known and enforced in cooperation with local
authorities; encouraging local school districts to expand their drug abuse
education as part of an overall health curriculum; seeking a commitment from
local and State government to require schools within their jurisdiction to be
drug free.
The
health dangers posed by drugs are increasingly evident. Our third goal is
ensuring the public is protected and those involved in drugs are treated. Three
steps are under consideration: encouraging States and communities to develop
programs to treat specific drug-related health problems; improving research in
health-related areas, including drug testing; bolstering medical and health
programs aimed at prevention.
Fourth
is international cooperation. We must build on what we've already accomplished
and move forward. Earlier this year I raised the priority of
drug abuse by declaring it a threat to our national security. Now, our
goal is nothing less than the full and active support and cooperation of every
country with which the United States must work to defeat international drug trafficking.
To accomplish this, we can take additional steps to expand our joint efforts in
affecting or attacking drug and narcotic traffickers at the source; continue
Vice President Bush's initiatives to increase the support given by the United
States military to drug law enforcement operations whenever it's appropriate;
intensify efforts with other nations to hit the traffickers where it hurts, in
the pocketbook, by further clamping down on money laundering and other
transactions conducted with drug money.
Our
fifth goal is strengthening law enforcement. Here again much has been
accomplished, but we can build upon existing programs to hit drug traffickers
with the force and power of a renewed sense of purpose. The following actions
could be part of this: insisting that the criminal justice system give prompt
and severe punishment to drug peddlers, the big guys and the little guys;
directing law enforcement coordinating committees and U.S. attorneys to
prosecute those who sell drugs in or near school property to the fullest extent
of the law; instructing the Vice President and Attorney General to expedite a
comprehensive new effort on our southern border, complementing current
programs, to stop illegal drug entry into the United States.
The
sixth goal is primary. We must expand public awareness and prevention. Now,
we've come a long way on this front. Attitudes are changing; so, now is the
time to enlist those who have yet to join the fight. We can do this by reaching
out to all Americans and asking them to join Nancy's drug abuse awareness and
prevention campaign; taking a stand in every city, town, and village in this
country and making certain drug users fully understand their fellow citizens
will no longer tolerate drug use; disseminating credible and accurate
information about the danger posed by drugs. Users should know we are concerned
and understand there is a legitimate reason to be concerned.
In
these next few weeks, the administration will be preparing for an action
campaign, based on many of the points I've made here today, to be launched when
the kids start returning to school in the fall. So, this is chapter one, more
to come. Thank you.
Q.
Will you set an example, you and the administration, and take drug tests
yourselves and ask the Cabinet to?
The President. I've talked about that
with the Cabinet, and if we see that this could be a useful thing and show the
way to others -- yes, we all agreed that we'd do it.
Q.
Well, what about the subject, though, of mandatory testing for Federal
employees? Have you decided that for all employees it's not such a good idea --
an invasion of privacy, perhaps?
The President. Now, you're going to
ask some questions here that are under discussion and that still we have not
set out a pattern, but we're spending long hours at this. But I could say this:
I think we're pretty much agreed that mandatory testing is justified where the
employees have the health of others and the safety of others in their hands.
People that you're depending on for safety and things of this kind should do it
-- security reasons. On the other hand, I think we're pretty much agreed that
what we should seek is voluntary -- we should work with labor leaders and with
our own people here in government and see if they could not see the advantage
of setting a pattern and an example for all of society.
Q.
Mr. President, you didn't say anything today about spending more Federal money
on drug enforcement; and, in fact, the level of spending has remained current
or gone down a little bit. Is rhetoric alone enough to take care of this?
The President. It isn't just rhetoric
alone. We're talking about a lot of people who are, right now -- organizations
that are actively engaged and so forth. But let me say this -- no, we did step
up as far as law enforcement was concerned -- that area.
There
seems to be a little misunderstanding about a reduction out here with regard to
grants and so forth about drug use and rehabilitation and so forth. Actually,
what we set out to do, based on the experience of some
of us in State government and local government, was that too many Federal
programs are sent out to local and State levels -- just wrapped in redtape and with specific designations as to exactly how
every penny must be spent. And we found that that has led to a situation in
which many times the greatest part of the money was used for administrative
overhead and not actually getting at the problem. So, what we did -- yes, we
reduced, but we changed to block grants. And we know from that experience out
of the State level that if you give a block grant and trust to the local
authorities, their freedom to do this in the most expeditious manner in their
area -- treat with the problems that they see as the greatest problem -- that
you have more money actually going to the task and not wasted in
Federal-mandated overhead.
Q.
Sir, if I can just follow up. You propose to do what you outlined today without
spending any additional Federal money?
The President. Oh, no -- no, no. No.
We know that there's going to be a cost, and we're going to have to look at
where we are going to find that money. Because, for example, we believe that
schools and workplaces -- we believe that we should -- to those people that are
found to be using drugs -- that if we don't threaten them with losing their
jobs or kicking them out of school -- what we say to them is,
we want to help you get well. Now, if there's going to be increased testing,
that is costly. If there's going to be extra burden imposed on the treatment centers
and so forth, we're going to have to find funds for that, and we recognize
that.
Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press
International]?
Q.
Margaret Thatcher has said now that she will go for limited sanctions. Have you
changed your mind at all in terms of sanctions?
The President. Helen, I'm not going to
violate my own rule here today. I'm not going to change the subject on
anything. I'll take questions on this subject alone.
Let
me take you.
Q.
Mr. President, the supply of illegal drugs has never been more varied, more
abundant, more potent, or less expensive than it is today. Isn't this new
crusade just an acknowledgment that you can't do anything about the supply?
The President. I don't think you
should give up on that. You have to do that. What it does recognize is what I
think many of us recognized even while we were stepping that program up, and
that is, you're not going to succeed until you take the customer away from the
drugs. At the same time, however, you can increase the price by cutting down on
the supply, by confiscation of the means of delivery and so forth. The
Government, right now, already owns quite a fleet of yachts and airplanes and
trucks and so forth that have been involved in that trade and that we have
already intercepted. And you can make it more difficult for the buyer. But at
the same time, the real cure is going to be turning, particularly, our young
people off.
Q.
Mr. President, what will you say to your -- --
The President. Wait until I -- I'll
come back there.
Q.
Mr. President, what will you say to your critics who say you're 5 years too
late -- that if you'd been serious about this, you would have started it
earlier, and you're doing it now only because public opinion polls show that it
would be popular politically?
The President. No, that's not true. We
stepped up the, as I say, the interdiction process very much. It takes awhile
to find out how these things work. We haven't before put the effort that we
recognize now should be put, and that is to create in the minds of all America
-- and those in this room could be most helpful in that -- that the time has
come for a nationwide crusade against this thing that is destroying and
threatening so many of our young people particularly, but that is raising the
cost in industry. Business is losing $100 million a year because -- --
Q.
Why hadn't you done it before?
The President. Well, maybe it took
awhile to see that the things that were going forward -- programs that went
from just a few organizations to, as I said earlier, 10,000 organizations
across the country -- that that growing thing needs -- that needs the added
help that can be given by doing this.
Q.
Sir, would you give the Customs collector more men to work at the border? Did
you give more money to the border patrol, more personnel?
The President. You're saying as if
everything that I am announcing is in the past. As I said here, we are still at
work on this. This is a kind of a preliminary announcement of what it is the
problems and what -- the general format. These specifics are yet to come, and
as I say, I'll be making further announcements.
Q.
Is there danger that these voluntary programs could become coercive and that
those who refuse to take them may come under suspicion in some fashion?
The President. As I've said, we're
going to encourage the use of voluntarism where it is not a case of endangering
someone's safety. But at the same time, I think we're pretty much agreed that
we should make it plain that we're not out to get people and fire them, and
we're not out to get kids and kick them out of school for using it. What we're
out to do is to see if they will not recognize that we want to help them, and
they don't lose from that, so I don't see how that could become coercive.
Q.
Will there be any government pressure on people to take these voluntary tests?
The President. Well, the only pressure
that I could see is, if they see other examples and if they see groups stepping
forward and saying, ``Yes, we'll do this in the interest of the cause.'' Well,
then there's a kind of a peer pressure put on people.
Q.
Mr. President, if there were two events which did this in your mind, which made
you decide to do this now?
Mr.
Speakes. Let's make this the last question, please.
The President. Yes, well, because I
have someone here that's more authoritative on this subject that will be
speaking to you and taking your questions. No, I think they all added to this,
and some of the tragedies recently that have been so spectacular, so well
publicized. But when you see some of the increasing figures
that we have seen -- and some recently. Sam [Sam Donaldson, ABC News],
in answer to your question, not that we've known them all this time, but when
we find out the percentage of children that are being approached about drugs in
the fourth grade. This has not existed always, but this continued stepping up
of a trying to increase the market, this is very much of what has led to this,
but now -- --
Q.
What about
Q.
Will you -- [inaudible] -- textile override, sir?
Q.
Have you heard from
Q.
What about
Q.
Have you heard from your friends in
Q.
You were tough.
The President. I will take that
question, because in the interview some things were edited out. I spoke of
little gratuitous scenes put in for comedy relief that made it look kind of
funny, and all fun together -- drugs -- as once upon a time Hollywood did with
drinking scenes. But if you've noticed over the years, recently, you rarely see
a scene for straight comedy of someone being drunk. Well, the same thing is
generally happening. Now, the part that was left out of what I said is that the
motion picture industry itself is talking about making sure that they don't do
this. You can't police every individual who wants to go wild -- and producing a
picture and put in some scene of that kind as the one that I mentioned
recently. But also,
Q.
Since when?
The President. What?
Q.
Since when?
The President. Just
recently. And with regard to the music thing -- and we do know about the
lyrics of some of those songs, plus the usage and the behavior at rock concerts
and so forth -- well, you might be interested and pleased to know that a large
number of the musicians in that field are organizing to see if they cannot
start promoting rock concerts without drugs.
Q.
You're not going to take this away from Mrs. Reagan, are you? Now that your
staff is working on this issue, you're not going to take this away from Mrs.
Reagan, are you?
The President. Do I look like an
idiot?
Note:
The President spoke at