21 U.S.C. § 1101 : US Code - Section 1101: Congressional findings

Search 21 U.S.C. § 1101 : US Code - Section 1101: Congressional findings

The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Drug abuse is rapidly increasing in the United States and
now afflicts urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Nation.
(2) Drug abuse seriously impairs individual, as well as
societal, health and well-being.
(3) Drug abuse, especially heroin addiction, substantially
contributes to crime.
(4) The adverse impact of drug abuse inflicts increasing pain
and hardship on individuals, families, and communities and
undermines our institutions.
(5) Too little is known about drug abuse, especially the
causes, and ways to treat and prevent drug abuse.
(6) The success of Federal drug abuse programs and activities
requires a recognition that education, treatment, rehabilitation,
research, training, and law enforcement efforts are interrelated.
(7) The effectiveness of efforts by State and local governments
and by the Federal Government to control and treat drug abuse in
the United States has been hampered by a lack of coordination
among the States, between States and localities, among the
Federal Government, States and localities, and throughout the
Federal establishment.
(8) Control of drug abuse requires the development of a
comprehensive, coordinated long-term Federal strategy that
encompasses both effective law enforcement against illegal drug
traffic and effective health programs to rehabilitate victims of
drug abuse.
(9) The increasing rate of drug abuse constitutes a serious and
continuing threat to national health and welfare, requiring an
immediate and effective response on the part of the Federal
Government.
(10) Although the Congress observed a significant apparent
reduction in the rate of increase of drug abuse during the three-
year period subsequent to March 21, 1972, and in certain areas
of the country apparent temporary reductions in its incidence,
the increase and spread of heroin consumption since 1974, and the
continuing abuse of other dangerous drugs, clearly indicate the
need for effective, ongoing, and highly visible Federal
leadership in the formation and execution of a comprehensive,
coordinated drug abuse policy.
(11) Shifts in the usage of various drugs and in the Nation's
demographic composition require a Federal strategy to adjust the
focus of drug abuse programs to meet new needs and priorities on
a cost-effective basis.
(12) The growing extent of drug abuse indicates an urgent need
for prevention and intervention programs designed to reach the
general population and members of high risk populations such as
youth, women, and the elderly.
(13) Effective control of drug abuse requires high-level
coordination of Federal international and domestic activities
relating to both supply of, and demand for, commonly abused
drugs.
(14) Local governments with high concentrations of drug abuse
should be actively involved in the planning and coordination of
efforts to combat drug abuse.