Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 4.djvu/724

 112 STAT. 2681-695 PUBLIC LAW 105-277—OCT. 21, 1998 (B) 38 percent of the total drug control budget expenditures for domestic law enforcement. (C) 33 percent of the total drug control budget expenditures for international drug interdiction efforts. (7) In the late 1980's and early 1990's, counternarcotic efforts were successful, specifically in protecting the borders of the United States from penetration by illegal narcotics through increased seizures by the United States Coast Guard and other agencies, including a 302 percent increase in pounds of cocaine seized between 1987 and 1991. (8) Limiting the availability of narcotics to drug traffickers in the United States had a promising effect as illustrated by the decline of illicit drug use between 1988 and 1991, through a— (A) 13 percent reduction in total drug use; (B) 35 percent drop in cocaine use; and (C) 16 percent decrease in marijuana use. (9) In 1993, drug interdiction efforts in the transit zones were reduced due to an imbalance in the national drug control strategy. This trend has continued through 1995 as shown by the following figures: (A) 35 percent for demand reduction programs. (B) 53 percent for domestic law enforcement. (C) 12 percent for international drug interdiction efforts. (10) Supply reduction efforts became a lower priority for the Administration and the seizures by the United States Coast Guard and other agencies decreased as shown by a 68 percent decrease in the pounds of cocaine seized between 1991 and 1996. (11) Reductions in funding for comprehensive interdiction operations like OPERATION GATEWAY and OPERATION STEELWEB, initiatives that encompassed all areas of interdiction and attempted to disrupt the operating methods of drug smugglers along the entire United States border, have created unprotected United States border areas which smugglers exploit to move their product into the United States. (12) The result of this new imbalance in the national drug control strategy caused the drug situation in the United States to become a crisis with serious consequences including— (A) doubling of drug-abuse-related arrests for minors between 1992 and 1996; (B) 70 percent increase in overall drug use among children aged 12 to 17; (C) 80 percent increase in drug use for graduating seniors since 1992; (D) a sharp drop in the price of 1 pure gram of heroin from $1,647 in 1992 to $966 in February 1996; and (E) a reduction in the street price of 1 gram of cocaine from $123 to $104 between 1993 and 1994. (13) The percentage change in drug use since 1992, among graduating high school students who used drugs in the past 12 months, has substantially increased—marijuana use is up 80 percent, cocaine use is up 80 percent, and heroin use is up 100 percent. (14) The Department of Defense has been called upon to support counter-drug efforts of Federal law enforcement

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