http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/ ONDCP's podcasts deliver speeches, events, interviews, and the latest information regarding national efforts to reduce drug use in America direct to your computer or portable media player. en-us No Copyright Mon, 16 Jan 2006 10:00:00 EST Mon, 16 Jan 2006 10:30:00 EST ONDCP's podcasts deliver speeches, events, interviews, and the latest information regarding national efforts to reduce drug use in America direct to your computer or portable media player. ONDCP speeches, events, interviews, and latest information. ONDCP Office of National Drug Control Policy, John P Walters, ONDCP, drug policy, drug control, drugs, drug, narcotics, substance abuse, drug treatment, drug prevention ONDCP clearinghouse@ondcp.gov No 144 134 http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/ http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/images/podcastLogo144.jpg http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/rss/default.asp?iid=49
When I took office in 2001, our country was facing a troubling rate of drug abuse, particularly among young people. Throughout America, young men and women saw their dreams disrupted by the destructive cycle of addiction. So I committed our Nation to an ambitious goal: In 2002, we began efforts to cut drug use among young people by 25 percent over five years.

Our strategy has three key elements. First, we are working to disrupt the supply of drugs by strengthening law enforcement and partnering with other countries to keep drugs out of the United States. Second, we're working to reduce the demand for drugs through prevention and education programs. And third, we're providing treatment options for those who've fallen prey to addiction.

These efforts have produced measurable results. Since 2001, the rate of youth drug abuse has dropped by 24 percent. Young people's use of marijuana is down by 25 percent. Their use of Ecstasy has dropped by more than 50 percent. And their use of methamphetamine has declined by 64 percent. Overall, an estimated 860,000 fewer young people in America are using drugs today than when we began these efforts.

Our drug control strategy will continue all three elements of this successful approach. It will also target a growing problem -- the abuse of prescription drugs by youth. Unfortunately, many young Americans do not understand how dangerous abusing medication can be. And in recent years, the number of Americans who have died from prescription drug overdoses has increased.

One of the factors behind this trend is the growing availability of highly addictive prescription drugs online. The Internet has brought about tremendous benefits for those who cannot easily get to a pharmacy in person. However, it has also created an opportunity for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists to profit from addiction.

One victim of such a doctor was Ryan Haight. The young man from California was only 18 when he overdosed on pain killers that were illegally prescribed over the Internet. With only a few clicks of the mouse, Ryan was able to get a prescription from a doctor he had never met and have the pills sent to his front door. The doctor who wrote Ryan's prescription had previously served time in prison for illegally dispensing controlled substances.

We need to prevent tragedies like this from happening in the future. So I'm asking Congress to work with my Administration to put an end to the illegal sale of highly addictive prescription drugs on the Internet. By working together to meet this goal, we can ensure a safer future for our children.

Government action is only one part of the solution to the problem of drug abuse. Others in our society have an important role to play as well. People in the entertainment and sports industries serve as role models to millions of young Americans, and that comes with the responsibility to dispel the notion that drug abuse is glamorous and free of consequences. Teachers, pastors, and parents also have an obligation to help young people develop the character and self-respect to resist drugs. The Federal Government will continue to do its part to keep our young people safe, and I urge all Americans to do the same. Our children deserve nothing less.

Thank you for listening.

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During a keynote speech hosted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Walters pledged to continue to work with high-level Canadian officials and highlighted progress made in reducing drug use in the United States.

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Similarly, the rate of current marijuana use among youth ages 12 to 17 declined significantly from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.8 percent in 2005, and the average age of first use of marijuana increased from under age 17 in 2003 to 17.4 years in 2005. Furthermore, drinking among teens declined, with 16.5 percent of youth ages 12-17 reporting current alcohol use and 9.9 percent reporting binge drinking. This compares with 17.6 percent of this age group reporting drinking in 2004 and 11.1 percent reporting binge drinking in the past month in 2004. These declines in alcohol use by youth, ages 12-17, follow years of relatively unchanged rates.

The baby boomer generation presents a different story. Among adults aged 50 to 59, the rate of current illicit drug use increased from 2.7 percent to 4.4 percent between 2002 and 2005, reflecting the aging into this age group - the baby boom cohort.

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The interview took place following an interview he conduced with Director Walters which will air on Court TV. The piece will focus on the threat of meth in rural communities.

Host: Part of our strategy to reduce drug use in America depends on parents talking about their kids about illegal drugs. You recently wrote a book on the joys and perils of fatherhood, maybe you can share with us your experiences about talking to your kids about drugs.

Well I've got an 18, 7 and 3 year old. I remember my dad talking to me about drugs. We try to talk to our kids about this. Don't try to be heavy handed, try to drop things in 'what do you think about that" and hope that just by osmosis that it takes. Don't try to be too preachy, that's how my dad was with me.

I'll never forget it, and I'm probably older than most folks listening to this, but he was watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite and there was a story about how marijuana causes brain damage and my dad says "damn right, if I catch you using it I'll crush your skull." I always thought I'd be a little cooler dad than that. But in fact, there's nothing wrong with a little dose of fear. I've been honest with my kids. I tried pot twice in college and I don't like the way I got subdued and tired and how I finished off a 55 gallon drum a cheetos and I said, "this isn't good." It didn't do anything for me. I was upfront with my kids.

I was fortunate in that I could be fairly honest about what my drug "experimentation" was. I forget what the numbers are but there are staggering in the number of kids that have experimented with it. Hopefully you have given them enough of a background to say, well maybe you are going to do this but even if you did do it- don't press your luck. The best thing is not to do this at all.

Host: You bring up a good point, which is, a lot of parents feel they would be hypocrites by telling their kids not use when they have tried drugs before, but in fact you're telling them the truth which is that you made mistakes.

Al: Exactly, if you characterize it as that, that it was nothing that you know, you continue to do, or condone, that you knew it was wrong, that you tried it, and that was that, I don't see that as being hypocritical.

Now if you're still doing it and you tell your kids not too, then you have no moral leg to stand on to say, 'well don't do that' its like do as I say not as I do. It's a real issue. There are some that say, 'well you tell your kids not to drink" and you maybe have a cocktail - well its illegal. I don't think you can equate a glass of white wine, with meth. They're two different things.

Host: That's right, and speaking of meth you've traveled the country learning more about the meth problem in the United States. Can you tell us what has shocked you the most about this drug?

Al: well its just the antithesis of what we think of when you think of drugs. We always think of drugs starting in inner cities, in big cities, urban America and then spreading out to the suburbs and then eventually hitting the heartland. This is just the opposite.

It started in the SW and spread east and starts really in rural sections and then works its way into the cities. It hasn't really hit the East and the densely populated NE but god help us if it does...and just how fast it spreads, it's like a wildfire. It's a tsunami, its an emotional and economic tsunami that races through a community.

Host: We've seen the same things, not just with the physical damages it causes to houses and kids who have been exposed to the drug, but also with addiction. Can you give us some examples of people who are actually making the problem better around the country?

Al: Well, there's this woman named Susan York in Seattle, WA. She's worked with her local police and shut down 38 meth houses in her neighborhood, and that's a real shining example, and I know there are other examples. We're focusing our special on Court TV on this place in Indiana- Caruthersville, where a young girl apparently was murdered because of coming across a meth lab. Even though people knew this was going on, once this happened, this 10 year old girl a town of 650 people, everyone knew her - they said, you know what? No more. And they stood up and with the help of the FBI and local police, they shut these places down.

Host: And finally, you're a pretty well known person, do you feel that celebrities or people we hold in high-esteem should hold themselves to a certain standards when it comes to drug use..or at least showing the realities of drug use.

Al: well look, everybody has to make their own decision, everybody has to walk their walk. I don't do drugs. I don't condone it. I don't see the point in it. You try to do what's right. That's what you try to impress upon your kids. Everybody has to make their own decision.

I can't speak for anyone else in the public eye but all I know is that I don't do it. I don't condone it and I don't want my kids to do it.

Look it was part of a public record in that my older girl - I came across her and some friends involved with drug use and I reported it to the school, and it was a private matter. It wasn't involved with the police but it was reported in the press and my daughter said, 'its not fair daddy," and I said, I know its not but that's the price you pay. You've been able to reap the benefits of your mom and dad being in the public eye but there's also responsibilities and you're held up to a different standard. It was difficult, but she learned a valuable lesson. At the time I didn't think it was fair because she wasn't in the public eye, I'm one of those people who pretty much have kept my children out of the press. I don't parade them on television and I don't take them with me to a lo to openings and if I do they're not in the pictures, so I feel my children are not fair game, but you know, life is not fair unfortunately. But that's the case for everybody, I think everybody has to realize that an any given time you never know what's going to happen and who's going to be there or what the consequences - and that's what it is, a lot of times there are going to be consequences, you might not realize them at the moment, but somewhere, somehow there is going to be a consequence.]]> 00:08:16 Fri, 13 Jan 2006 16:00:00 EST Politics ONDCP http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/rss/default.asp?iid=32 http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/rss/default.asp?iid=27
THANK YOU FOR DOWNLOADING THIS PODCAST FROM THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY.

THIS DOWNLOAD CONTAINS DIRECTOR WALTERS REMARKS FROM THE RELEASE OF THE 2005 MONITORING THE FUTURE SURVEY. THE RELEASE TOOK PLACE AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON DECEMBER 19TH.

DIRECTOR WALTERS WAS JOINED BY OFFICIALS FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.

JOHN WALTERS, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY:

THANK YOU NORA, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE, DR. JOHNSON, DR. LEE, KAREN TANDY

THIS IS A DAY TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING IN OUR COMMUNITY TO REDUCE THE USE, ADDICTION, AND AVAILABILITY OF ILLEGAL DRUGS.

THIS SURVEY AS DR. VOLKOW MADE CLEAR SHOWS CONTINUING EFFORTS AT DECLINE. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WHERE WE'VE COME IN THIS EFFORT AND NOT TAKE THIS PROGRESS FOR GRANTED.

I HAVE A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE CHANGES WE HAVE SEEN HERE. WE HAD A STEADY DECLINE FROM THE PEAKS OF DRUG USE AT THE END OF THE 70's AND EARLY 80's MEASURED BY THIS SURVEY AND OTHERS. DRAMATIC DECLINES THAT BOTTOMED OUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 90's AT THIS POINT WE SEE THAT DRUG USE BY YOUNG PEOPLE WHICH IS WERE THIS STARTS WHERE THE RISK OF ADDICTION INCREASES AND THE YOUNGER AND EARLIER AND GREATER MAGNITUDE OF THAT USE DOUBLED VIRTUALLY IN THE PERIOD OF THE EARLY NINETIES AND THE MID NINETIES. THEN IT WENT DOWN AND IT BOUNCED AROUND. THIS SURVEY - I WAS LOOKING AT SOME OF THE HEADLINES OF EARLIER PRESS RELEASES - TALKING ABOUT SOME DRUGS ABATING AND ECSTASY INCREASING, INCREASES AND DECREASES AS WE WENT ALONG A KIND OF PLATEAU AND I THINK A CONCERN BY MANY IS THAT DRUG USE HAD STABILIZED AT A LEVEL TWICE THE LEVEL WE HAD SEEN IN THE EARLY NINETIES. THE QUESTION WAS COULD THIS DECLINE? THIS WAS THE RECENT PEAKS OF DRUG USE ACROSS MULTIPLE CATEGORIES AS YOU HAVE SEEN IN RECENT PRESS RELEASES. AND WE HAVE HAD SINCE 2001 A STEADY DECLINE AND WE'RE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT THAT DECLINE NOT ONLY CONTINUES BUT SOME DRUGS WHICH HAVE BEEN OF PARTICULAR CONCERN HAVE HAD REMARKABLE CHANGES.

METH USE BY 8TH AND 10TH AND 12 GRADERS COMBINED DROPPED BY ABOUT 1/3 SINCE 2001. LIFETIME DROP WAS 34 PERCENT PAST YEAR DROP 30 PERCENT PAST MONTH DROP 36 PERCENT.

STEROID USE IS DOWN 38 PERCENT FOR LIFETIME 37 PERCENT FOR PAST YEAR AND 30 PERCENT FOR PAST MONTH USE. THESE ARE ONE, AS NORA SAID, OF A VARIETY OF DRUGS THAT WE NOW PAY ATTENTION TO UNLIKE SOME OF THE TIMES IN THE PAST. THERE ARE A SERIOUS SUBSTANCE OF ABUSE AND SOME OF THEM HAVE AFFECTED OUR COMMUNITIES GREATLY AND ARE OF PARTICULAR CONCERN TO YOUNG PEOPLE. YOU SEE THE DECLINES HERE ON THESE TWO CHARTS OF THE RATES IN TERMS OF STEROID AND METH

OVERALL DRUG USE CONTINUES TO DECLINE. AS NORA SAID THE COMBINED 8TH 10TH AND 12TH GRADE DECLINE SINCE 2001 IS 19 PERCENT AND TRANSLATES TO ABOUT 700.000 FEWER YOUNG PEOPLE USING DRUGS TODAY THAN IN 2001. AS YOU KNOW THE PRESIDENT SET A TWO YEAR GOAL OF A 10 PERCENT REDUCTION WHICH WE HAVE EXCEEDED AND A FIVE YEAR GOAL OF A 25 PERCENT REDUCTION WHICH WE WILL REACH THE FIVE YEAR GOAL OF COURSE NEXT YEAR.

MARIJUANA AS DR. VOLKOW SAID CONTINUES TO BE THE MOST COMMONLY USED DRUG YET USAGE RATES ARE DECLINING. MARIJUANA USE DROPPED IN ALL THREE CATEGORIES. CURRENT USE OF MARIJUANA DECREASED 28 PERCENT AMONG 8TH GRADERS, 23 PERCENT AMONG 10TH GRADERS AND 10 PERCENT AMONG 12th GRADERS FOR THE 2001 - 2005 PERIOD.

WE'VE ALSO SEEN DRAMATIC DECLINES WHICH SHOW THE ADVANTAGES OF A BALANCED STRATEGY IN HALLUCINOGENS, LSD AND ECSTASY. THESE DRUGS ARE DOWN NEARLY 2/3 IN THIS PERIOD. AGAIN I POINT OUT THAT DURING THE PERIOD FROM LATE NINETIES TO 2000 ECSTASY WAS AN ENORMOUSLY GROWING DRUG. WE WERE CONCERNED THAT THIS WAS AN AREA WHERE KIDS THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE, FUN AND WE DID A COMBINATION OF EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS IN COMMUNITIES IN THE MEDIA WITH OUR PARTNERS PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG FREE AMERICA AND DEA AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKING WITH FOREIGN GOVTS TO ATTACK THE SOURCES OF ECSTASY FROM ABROAD. THESE 60 PLUS PERCENT DROPS HERE AND AS WE HAVE SEEN ELSE WHERE IN ADULT SURVEYS ARE A MEASURE OF WHAT CAN BE DONE WHEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND WORK TOGETHER IN THE BALANCE WE ALL SEEK.

IN ADDITION, AS DR. VOLKOW MENTIONED, AND AS THE STUDY SHOWS THE USE OF ALCOHOL AND CIGARETTES IS ALSO DOWN. DOWN DRAMATICALLY DOWN FOR VARIOUS RATES AND QUANTITIES OF USE. THIS IS IMPORTANT AND I THINK IT ALSO IS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HAVE A GENERAL VIEW OUT THERE THAT THERE IS A KIND OF LEVEL OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN OUR SOCIETY AND THAT WE ARE SILLY IF WE THINK THAT WE CAN CHANGE THAT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE THAT IF ONE THING GOES DOWN ANOTHER THING GOES UP AND IF ONE THING GOES UP ANOTHER THING GOES DOWN. ACROSS THE BOARD WE ARE HAVING SUSTAINED DECLINES AND I WILL POINT OUT THAT WHEN ILLEGAL DRUG USE - MARIJUANA USE- WAS GOING UP IN THE MID-9O's WE ALSO SAW CIGARETTE SMOKING AND OTHER KINDS OF BEHAVIORS THAT WERE A PROBLEM. WE'VE ALSO SEEN DECLINES SOME DRUGS THAT HAVE BEEN A PARTICULAR CONCERN CLUB DRUGS, NOT ONLY ECSTASY, BUT ROHYPNOL THE SO-CALLED DATE RAPE DRUG GHB AND KETAMINE.

COCAINE HAS REMAINED STABLE ACROSS ALL PREVALENCE RATES AND THE NUMBER OF HEROIN USERS HAS ALSO REMAINED RELATIVELY LOW BUT REMAINS A CONCERN, OBVIOUSLY, ACROSS THESE AREAS. THESE ARE RELATIVELY SMALL AS IS METH IN THESE CATEGORIES BUT OBVIOUSLY THE DANGER OF THESE SUBSTANCES ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG CHILDREN IS SOMETHING WE PAY ATTENTION TO CAREFULLY.

NOW THE POINTS OF CONCERN I WANT TO ECHO. OBVIOUSLY PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE HAS BEEN A PROBLEM. WE HAVE SEEN THIS WITH ADULTS AS INCREASINGLY THE DIVERSION OF PRESCRIPTION PHARMACEUTICALS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL AND HELPFUL IN SO MANY WAYS TO RELIVE PAIN AND OTHER FORMS OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS HAVE INCREASINGLY BEEN USED AS SUBSTANCES OF ABUSE. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE PEOPLE SICKER OR IN MORE PAIN TO CONTROL THIS. WE DO BELIEVE WE HAVE TO PAY MORE ATTENTION AND OUR OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH HHS WITH THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY WITH DEA, FDA TO HELP IMPROVE EDUCATION, TO THE ABILITY OF STATES TO MONITOR DIVERSION TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM HARMING THEMSELVES WITH BENEFICIAL MEDICATIONS THAT OBVIOSLY NEEDS TO CONINTUE IN THESE FINDINGS.

WE ARE ALSO CONCERNED THAT FUNDING REDUCTIONS BY CONGRESS IN ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT PREVENTION TOOLS THE YOUTH ANTIDRUG MEDIA CAMPAIGN IS A DANGEROUS PRECENT FOR WEAKENING OUR EFFORTS IN THE FUTURE. THIS IS A CAMPAIGN WHERE WE JOIN WITH THE MEDIA THE MEDIA PROVIDES US WITH 2 UNITES OF TIME AND SPACE FOR EVERY UNIT WE BUY. WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR WITH MEDICAL AND YOUTH PROFESSIONALS AND THE BEST MINDS IN ADVERTISING TO PROVIDE THE MOST POWERFUL MESSAGES WE COULD. WE BELIEVE THAT HAS SUBSTANTIAL AND DEMONSTRABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DECLIENS WE HAVE SEEN SINCE 2001. WE CANNOT CONTINUTE TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY IF FUNDING CONTINUES TO DECLINEN AND WE'VE ALERTED CONGRESS TO THIS FACT. WE THINK THESE RESULTS ARE A REMINDER THAT THESE CONTRIBUTIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE MEDIA THEY BUTRESS WHAT WE DO IN THE COMMUSUPPLY BUT THEY NEED TO CONTINUE AND THEY NEED TO CONTIUE FORCEFULLY.

I'D LIKE TO CLOSE BY THANKING AGAIN THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES THE PEOPLE HERE AND ABROAD WORKING IN INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRAFFICKING AND SUPPLY THE PEOPLE PROVIDING HELP IN THE CLASSROOM AND IN THE AFTER SHCHOOL WORK TAKING THE TIME TO EDUCATE AND NURTURE YOUNG PEOPLE. THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE ONE CHILD AT A TIME AND SOMETIEMS FOR THEM I KNOW THEY BELIEVE IS THAT ONE CHILD AT A TIME ENOUGH? ARE WE LOSING MORE THAN WE'RE GAINING? THESE SURVEY RESULTS SHOW THAT WHILE THERE IS STILL WORK TO DO, THEIR WORK HAS BEEN RICHLY PROFITABLE TO THIS NATION AND CONTINUES TO SHOW DECLIENS THAT ARE CRITICAL AND IN RECENT TIMES HAVE BEEN SOUGHT SO DESPERATELY AND WE ARE NOW REALIZING THAT GOAL SO I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THEM IN PARTICLUAR IN ADDITION TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE PRODUCED THIS MATERIAL AND HAVE HELPED US TO GUIDE OUR POLICIES AND KNOW WHERE WE ARE AS A NATION.]]> 00:09:01 Wed, 28 Dec 2005 14:00:00 EST Politics ONDCP http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/rss/default.asp?iid=27 http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/rss/default.asp?iid=24
We all know that drugs are a source of misery, addiction, crime and death for too many of our fellow citizens. However, we also know that when we push back against the drug problem it gets smaller. Thanks to the efforts of grassroots activists, parents, and other community leaders, we are already seeing dramatic declines in American drug use. In fact, there are now almost 700,000 fewer young people using drugs today than three years ago. This is a 19 percent decline in youth drug use since 2001. While this is encouraging news, President Bush and I are eager to see more progress.

Over the past four years, I have traveled the nation meeting countless of anti-drug activists, drug treatment professionals, police officers, parents and others who are working hard to make our national the drug problem smaller. The most important thing I've learned is that the work to reduce drug use doesn't happen inside the beltway. In fact, we depend on citizens like you to deliver appropriate, factual information to our communities regarding the harm that drugs cause to our society. By providing you with updates on our efforts, we hope that you will use this information to make our nation a safer place.

To find out more about our National efforts or to find out what you can to do to make our society safer, visit www.WhiteHouseDrugPolicy.gov or our weblog at www.PushingBack.com.

Thanks for tuning in. I'm John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy.

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