E&GIFT DIVISION SELECT COMMITTEE ON NINETY-NINTH CONGRESS For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office KF27 .5 THE EFFECT OF DRUG ABUSE ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1985 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON NARCOTICS ABUSE AND CONTROL, Washington, DC. The select committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:30 a.m., in room 2226, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Charles B. Rangel (chairman of the select committee) presiding. Present: Representatives Charles B. Rangel and Michael L. Strang. Staff present: John T. Cusack, chief of staff, and Elliott A. Brown, minority staff director. Mr. RANGEL. Let me thank those of you that weathered the storm, and thank the panelists as well as participants for joining in the 15th annual Congressional Black Caucus legislative meeting. Last year we received shocking testimony of the relationship between the drug problem and the dropout problem, and that was given to us by the National Institute on Drug Abuse who found that more students involved in drugs failed to graduate from high school than those that were not involved at all. That study was made by Dr. Lloyd Johnson. In any event, we have felt that this is a national problem, even though it appears as though in the minority communities that we were more severely impacted. We have been fortunate to bring together a variety of experts in this field, to look more closely at it, and as we try to do with every legislative hearing, to see whether we in the Congress can do more, either through the administration or through legislation, so this morning we have Jon Thomas, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotic Matters. This is how the select committee liaisons with the administration. He has the full international responsibility, working directly under the Secretary of State, to work with the drug-producing countries toward the goal of full eradiation. Dr. Jerome Jaffe, Acting Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who has been with us every year, and remained a resource person for us. He is not here yet; he will be here at 10:15. Jack Lawn, who is the Administrator from the Drug Enforcement Administration. That is our point law enforcement agency, and they have had their budget supported mainly by the administration. There may be problems as to whether or not it is expanded to the size that some of us in Congress would want, but in any (1) |