WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush in his State of the Union speech Tuesday proposed spending $23 million on drug testing in schools to cut drug use among the young.
"One of the worst decisions our children can make is to gamble their lives and futures on drugs," Bush said.
He said that while illegal drug use has dipped among children in recent years, much work remains to be done.
"Four hundred thousand fewer young people are using illegal drugs than in the year 2001," he said.
He said education, drug treatment and law enforcement have helped cut drug use in high schools by 11 percent over the past two years.
Drug testing has also helped, he said. Other new funding would cover efforts to "continue our aggressive, community-based strategy to reduce the demand for illegal drugs," he said.
"The aim here is not to punish children, but to send this message: We love you and we don't want to lose you."
