H.R. No. 535
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, The magnitude of the alcohol and drug abuse problem
    1-2  in this country is staggering; in Texas alone the total economic
    1-3  cost of substance abuse in 1989 was over $12.6 billion, more than
    1-4  $800 per individual Texan; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, In addition, more than half of all motor vehicle
    1-6  fatalities and occurrences of domestic violence in the United
    1-7  States are related to alcohol use; the cost to the Texas criminal
    1-8  justice system in arresting, trying, and jailing individuals who
    1-9  abuse alcohol was $299 million in 1989; and
   1-10        WHEREAS, The comparable criminal justice cost for drug
   1-11  abusers in 1989 was an additional $709 million, and 40 percent of
   1-12  growth in the U.S. jail population from 1983 to 1989 was due to
   1-13  people held for or convicted on drug charges; and
   1-14        WHEREAS, Substance abuse has been closely linked to the
   1-15  occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, as
   1-16  well as early and unwanted pregnancies, fetal deaths, and birth
   1-17  defects; and
   1-18        WHEREAS, Despite these staggering statistics, every year
   1-19  since 1979, the nation's growing investment in efforts towards the
   1-20  prevention of alcohol and drug abuse targeting youth has met with
   1-21  regular decreases in the use of illicit drugs and alcohol; and
   1-22        WHEREAS, Research on substance abuse indicates that primary
   1-23  prevention programs made available to individuals before drug and
   1-24  alcohol abuse problems develop are by far the least expensive and
    2-1  most effective approach and offer the best hope for a long-term
    2-2  resolution of the drug and alcohol crisis; and
    2-3        WHEREAS, Prevention programming is the most effective
    2-4  deterrent to the growth and spread of substance abuse, particularly
    2-5  among young people between the ages of 12 and 20; and
    2-6        WHEREAS, Extensive knowledge has been collected on the most
    2-7  effective prevention strategies to use with this age group, such as
    2-8  tactics emphasizing peer-refusal skills and life skills such as
    2-9  coping with authority, impulse control, and managing hostility and
   2-10  anger; and
   2-11        WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in a
   2-12  school survey on alcohol and drug abuse documented a consistent
   2-13  decline in the use of illicit substances since 1988 due to the
   2-14  implementation of effective substance prevention programs in the
   2-15  community, in the workplace, on the highways, in the media, and in
   2-16  public policy; and
   2-17        WHEREAS, It is important that special attention be paid to
   2-18  efforts to prevent the growth of alcohol and drug abuse in this
   2-19  state and that support and encouragement be given to public and
   2-20  private programs utilizing preventive strategies; it is therefore
   2-21  appropriate that a special day be set aside to draw attention to
   2-22  drug and alcohol abuse prevention; now, therefore, be it
   2-23        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
   2-24  Legislature hereby designate April 14, 1993, as Drug Abuse
   2-25  Prevention Day and encourage all Texans to join in this observance.
   2-26  Prevention Day and encourage all Texans to join in this observance.
   2-27                                                            Blackwood
    3-1                                                      H.R. No. 535
    3-2                                      _______________________________
    3-3                                            Speaker of the House
    3-4        I certify that H.R. No. 535 was adopted by the House on
    3-5  April 14, 1993, by a non-record vote.
    3-6                                      _______________________________
    3-7                                          Chief Clerk of the House