A group of House Republicans have proposed eliminating the White House’s anti-drug media campaign to pay for Hurricane Katrina. The Republican Study Committee, said in its proposal released this week that “there is no solid evidence that media campaigns are effective in either preventing or reducing the use of illegal drugs.” The group, headed by Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., estimated the cut would save the government $1.3 billion over 10 years.

So we are going to cut all the prevention dollars, and waste all the years of Office of National Drug Control Policy efforts. Living in a state that spends zero dollars on youth prevention, this puts a bad taste in my mouth.. I haven’t been the biggest fan of all the efforts of the ONDCP but I believe it is needed.  I believe these campaigns from federal to state to local, open the door for conversations between parents and teens. I know they have for me with my eleven year-old. You would also think we would learn from Katrina the many social issues Americans face. Illegal drugs are a big costly one.

“We need strong support for the campaign in order to continue driving down teen drug use,” said ONDCP representative Tom Riley. “Dollars invested in prevention today save millions of dollars and thousands of lives tomorrow.” I totally agree, Lindsey Graham, Bob Inglis expect a call and an email from me.

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