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NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING AND ABUSE IN THE

LOS ANGELES AREA

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1986

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SELECT COMMITTEE ON NARCOTICS ABUSE AND CONTROL,

Washington, DC.

The Select Committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:15 a.m., at City Hall, Los Angeles, California, Hon. Charles B. Rangel (chairman of the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control) presiding. Present from the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control: Representatives Charles B. Rangel, Mel Levine and Stan Parris.

Present from the Committee on Education and Labor: Representatives Augustus Hawkins and Mervyn M. Dymally.

Present from the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government, Committee on Appropriations: Representative Edward R. Roybal.

Present from the Committee on Appropriations: Representative Julian Dixon.

Staff present: John T. Cusack, chief of staff, Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control; Elliott A. Brown, minority staff director, Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control; Edward H. Jurith, counsel, Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control; and Rebecca L. Hedlund, executive assistant, Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control.

Mr. RANGEL. We are waiting for Congressman Roybal.

While we are waiting, I want to thank Pat Russell for opening up this beautiful building to this joint committee hearing.

The House Select Committee on Narcotics is holding this hearing in conjunction with the Committee on Education and Labor, as well as the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government of the Committee on Appropriations.

Augustus Hawkins is the Chair of that Education Committee and Ed Roybal is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Treasury.

So reporters who are interested as to whether or not there were some political implications as to the hearing falling on the eve of the election, I assure the reporters that Stan Parris, Republican from Virginia, and I, running in New York, will have little to gain in your great city by having hearings today, but the truth of the matter is that for many, many months, we have scheduled hearings in Los Angeles, but because of the legislative agenda and because, as you can see, there is more than one chairman involved, it has been very difficult for these Members of Congress-they have

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agreed to remove themselves from their campaigns in order to make certain that this scheduled hearing did take place even though we are in recess.

So it is a real great honor for me to recognize Chairman Augustus Hawkins because in the recently signed into law bill that the House passed, a substantial amount of the moneys that are appropriated is the result of the legislative work that was done by the Committee on Education chaired by Congressman Hawkins.

[The opening statement of Mr. Rangel appears on p. 67.] Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Hawkins?

Mr. HAWKINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I certainly want to express my great pleasure and that of the Education and Labor Committee in joining with Mr. Roybal and the Appropriations Committee and with you from the Select Committee in this hearing.

I think probably the contribution which has been made in terms of emphasizing education is one of the principal ones we have made in fighting drug abuse.

Currently we are spending about $3 million on drug abuse education and prevention and as a result of the passage of this act, we will increase that to $200 million in the next fiscal year and then $250 million a year thereafter.

Obviously that is a very, very small amount, but at least it is a step in the right direction. I think it would add tremendously if we began at the beginning and began to reach young individuals in elementary school to change the behavior so that we can reduce the demand for drugs.

I am very pleased at what was done in this connection. I would also like to pay a special tribute to you, Chairman Rangel, for having accommodated those of us who represent districts in Los Angeles.

I know that it is a sacrifice for you to have left the State of New York on an important weekend such as this. We have been trying, as you say, for several months to get you to come out to Los Angeles and we are very, very pleased you have responded to our request.

We certainly want to pay a special tribute to you. I think the hearing today will add much to your knowledge of the subject in terms of various areas of Los Angeles.

Certainly we know there are exemplary programs operating throughout the area and if we can identify some of those programs and then replicate them, then I think this hearing will have been worthwhile and we owe I think to you a personal indebtedness. Thank you very much.

Mr. RANGEL. The Chair would like to recognize Chairman Edward Roybal. Certainly no Member of Congress has done more in highlighting the importance of not only having drug prevention treatment programs, but also the appropriate funds that are necessary, and I would like to publicly thank your staff, Congressman Roybal, for the hospitality that they have extended to the committee and without whose help this hearing would not have been possible.

Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Chairman, thank you.

I am sure that you can guess that you are now in my district. I would like to welcome you and the Members of the House of Representatives who are here at this hearing, welcome you to not only my district, but to the center of a great city that is most grateful for the fact that you are here today looking into the problems of narcotics and ways of combatting them.

I have been involved with this endeavor as have other Members of the House in attempting to do everything possible to fund the various departments that deal with narcotic addiction.

As you know, last year the Appropriations Subcommittee I chaired the Treasury-Postal Service Subcommittee, recommended an amount that was $1.2 billion more than the President had recommended. That money was to be used for two agencies of importance, one of which was the U.S. Customs Service the lead agency dealing with the interdiction of narcotics at points of entry. Both Houses of Congress accepted our recommendation when they passed the appropriations bill.

The President vetoed that bill, but the House of Representatives placed that amount in the continuing resolution. We were able to continue the funding that was necessary for that purpose.

We have gone through the same thing this year and again the House of Representatives and my colleagues from California answered in a positive manner and made it possible for us to include again in the continuing resolution the amount of money that was necessary for drug interdiction.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is really not enough. A great deal more has to be done, because narcotic addiction is undermining the moral fiber of this nation. A great deal more has to be done on the part of parents, on the part of teachers, religious leaders, the medical community, and all those concerned with the quality of human life. That includes the Members of Congress.

That is why this committee is here today, hoping that we can respond a little bit to the puzzle that we find before us, and get some ideas about what we can do to be sure that narcotic addiction does not take hold any more than it already has in this country.

Let's do everything we possibly can and use every tool at our command, but I feel we should place the most emphasis on education.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you and members of the committee for being present today.

Mr. RANGEL. The efforts of this joint committee are clearly a bipartisan effort and the Chair would like to recognize Congressman Stan Parris from Virginia, representing the minority.

Mr. PARRIS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I have a statement which I will not take the time of the witnesses to read. I ask unanimous consent that my entire statement be inserted in the record.

Mr. RANGEL. Without objection.

[The opening statement of Mr. Parris appears on p. 71.]

Mr. RANGEL. The Chair would like to recognize Members from this area who have worked hard in making certain we have these hearings. We have here, of course, Julian Dixon, Congressman Mel Levine, Congressman Mervyn Dymally, and at this point the Chair would recognize any member seeking recognition.

Congressman Levine?

Mr. LEVINE. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.

I have a longer statement which I would ask unanimous consent to have included in the record.

Mr. RANGEL. Without objection.

Mr. LEVINE. I would like to make several brief comments at this point.

First, I would like to echo the thoughts of our colleagues here who have commented on your leadership and expressed their gratitude to you for holding these hearings, not just in Los Angeles today, but throughout the country.

I have had the privilege of working as a member of the Select Committee on Narcotics, which you chair during the entire time that I have served in the Congress and there is no person that I know of in public life who has been more committed to dealing effectively with the scourge of drug abuse than you.

It bears repeating that drug abuse remains one of the most serious problems facing this entire country.

All of us know, the terrible aspects of drug abuse: The wasted human potential of thousands of our citizens, its contribution to violent crime, the drain on valuable resources from our communities and the destruction of the lives of those who become enmeshed in a drug habit.

Although drug abuse cuts across all ethnic, class and age groups, young people are particularly affected.

According to estimates by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly two-thirds of all high school seniors throughout this country have tried an illicit drug before they graduate. In fact, the drug abuse rates among America's youth are among the highest found anywhere in the world. These statistics are disturbing. Conducting hearings around the country underscores these problems to people not yet aware of the full extent of the problem.

Drug abuse is a particularly destructive problem here in Los Angeles.

As you have observed, the rates of emergency room admissions are increasing for cocaine and heroin-related incidents. Rates of PCP abuse are also reported to be particularly high in southern California and Los Angeles is being used by many drug dealers as a stop-over point for shipments of illegal drugs to other areas of the Western half of this Nation.

I am particularly concerned that drug education and drug treatment programs receive the full support that they require. The best opportunities to halt drug abuse are in eliminating the demand for drugs by educating our school age children before they become hooked and in treating drug abusers who wish to kick the habit. But users seeking treatment are currently finding that help is not readily available.

Increasing numbers of cocaine and heroin users are seeking treatment in Los Angeles County, only to find long waiting lists to receive counseling or admission to treatment programs.

Budget cuts and freezes at the Federal, State and local levels have severely limited available treatment services for the poor and for the middle-class drug abuser. While cocaine abuse is increasing,

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