WE MUST STOP THE FLOW OF DRUGS INTO VERMONT

It is time to address an urgent and rapidly growing problem in Vermont. The
scourge of heroin, and other drugs, has seeped into our neighborhoods and
threatens to destroy our children's futures.

Vermont has always been a peaceful place, isolated from the culture of
drugs and violence that infects our nation's urban areas, but in search of
new markets for their lethal commodities, out-of-state drug dealers now
target our communities, our schools, your neighbors' children and, yes,
even our own kids.

The availability and use of heroin in Vermont is increasing exponentially,
especially among our youth. From 1999 to 2000, the number of state and
local heroin investigations increased 372 percent. The number of 18- to
24-year-olds admitted for heroin abuse treatment increased 464 percent from
1997 to 2000. Most tragically, the number of heroin overdose deaths in
Vermont increased from four in 1998 to 10 in 1999, and 14 were reported
through the first 10 months of 2000.

I have spoken about the importance of expanding opportunity for all
Vermonters. I will continue to speak out on ways to provide more
opportunities to succeed, especially for our youth, but there is nothing
that destroys opportunity more quickly than drugs. That is why it is so
important to the future of Vermont that we stop the flood of drugs into our
state.

My Drug Education, Treatment, Enforcement and Rehabilitation Program, or
D.E.T.E.R., will greatly increase the resources available to communities to
prevent and treat drug abuse, and to allow law enforcement to combat more
effectively drug dealers in our neighborhoods.

To educate and prevent drug abuse, my program increases drug prevention
spending by $1.25 million to put a drug counselor in every junior and
senior high school; fund after-school programs and job opportunities for
students; and increase enrollment for proven, effective prevention programs.

Unfortunately, we'll never be able to stop everyone from making the wrong
choice. Therefore, we need to be prepared to treat addicts to help them
kick their habit before it destroys their lives.

We can keep drug users clean by adding more funding for drug treatment
programs that have a record of success. I propose an additional $1.5
million in funding for these treatment programs. If a program works, we
cannot afford not to fund it. The cost of drug abuse to society is just too
high.

We must also fund effective prison treatment programs so that inmates can
be rehabilitated and resume a productive life on the outside. Eighty-five
percent of Vermont inmates have a serious substance abuse problem. Unless
prisoners leave jail substance-free and continue treatment after their
release, they are destined to resume their lives of crime and further
burden our social welfare system.

And finally, we need to increase our enforcement efforts to make sure that
drug dealers know that they are unwelcome in Vermont. Today, convicted drug
dealers can enter your neighborhood and begin peddling their wares without
you ever knowing they are there. So I am proposing a "Megan's Law" for drug
dealers. Megan's Law requires that convicted sex offenders be entered into
a state registry, and states may actively notify the public when one enters
their community to live. We need to have a similar system for convicted
drug dealers.

No longer will these predators be able to lurk anonymously while they
target our children for destruction.

We need to send the strongest possible message to drug dealers that if they
come to our state for the purpose of killing our children for drug profits,
they will suffer the most severe consequences. In particular, if you sell
illegal drugs to a minor and that child dies as a result, you're going to
jail -- for the rest of your life.

And if you are a young person considering drugs, consider this: If you're
caught with drugs, I propose that we take away your driver's license for
one year. An aggressive plan to stop drugs from coming into Vermont will
cost money. The House approved a 36-cent tax increase on every pack of
cigarettes as part of a Medicaid reform package. The Senate Finance
committee recently endorsed a 67-cent tax on every pack. We know that
cigarettes are a gateway to more serious drugs. Therefore, I propose that
at least 10 cents of any tax increase above the House-passed 36-cents be
dedicated to this drug program.

The drug problem in Vermont has reached critical mass. We can choose to
address it now, or we can slide into the cycle of addiction, crime,
violence and decay that plagues other states who wish now they had acted
sooner.

Together, I know we can free our state from this dark culture, and preserve
for our children a society whose brightest days lie ahead.