NONE OF US CAN AFFORD TO BE BYSTANDERS

Statistics tell us that 70% of today's drug users are employed — and that makes the workplace a ready-made forum for reaching adult drug users.

Twenty-five years ago we ignored the warning signs of casual drug use.  As a result, we have faced — and continue to face — a serious drug problem in the United States.

But, we have made progress in changing public attitudes about illegal drugs, and this has led to significant reductions in the number of drug users in America.  Regular monthly drug users have decreased by over 40% since 1985.  Drug use is no longer tolerated as "acceptable" and "normal" in American society — and this is due, in large part, to our efforts to raise drug awareness through education programs in our schools, drug-free workplace initiatives in our businesses, and the reinforcement of these anti‑drug messages by the media.

For all the progress we have made, however, we still have much work ahead of us.  Illegal drug use is estimated to cost American businesses $60 to $100 billion a year in higher insurance premiums, industrial accidents, absenteeism and lost productivity.

It is a sad commentary that as recently as last year 1 out of every 10 American workers tested positive for the presence of illegal drugs!  (This excludes transportation workers who are subject to random testing.)

The thousands of drug-addicted crack babies born each year face a lifetime of

serious health and learning disabilities.  It's estimated that cocaine-exposed children will cost the U.S. taxpayers $100 billion in medical and developmental costs over the next decade.

The human cost in wasted lived, destroyed families, and in drug-related crime and violence in incalculable.

Stopping the spread of illegal drugs and drug addiction is the responsibility of each and every one of us.  None of us can afford to be bystanders in this struggle.

(Excerpts from remarks by William F. Alden, Chief, Congressional and Public Affairs, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, before the International Drug-Free Workplace Partnership in Vienna, Austria, May 17, 1993.)

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