JOINT RESOLUTIONS

Mike Miller, Jr., President of the Senate of Maryland; the
Honorable R. Clayton Mitchell, Jr., Speaker of the House of
Delegates; the Honorable Martin W. Walsh, Jr., Secretary of the
Environment, 201 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD 21201; the
Honorable William A. Fogle, Jr., Secretary of Licensing and
Regulation, 501 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21201; and the
Honorable Adele Wilzack, Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene,
300 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD 21201.

Signed May 27, 1988.

No. 7

(Senate Joint Resolution No. 18)

A Senate Joint Resolution concerning

A Task Force to Study the Advisability and Feasibility of
Creating a State Drug Enforcement Administration

FOR the purpose of requesting the Governor to establish a Task
Force to study the advisability and feasibility of creating
a Maryland State Drug Enforcement Administration and report
its findings to the General Assembly by a certain date.

Preamble

WHEREAS, In the United States the fight against drug use and,
abuse is increasingly becoming the responsibility of State and
local law enforcement agencies; and

WHEREAS, Of the $6.2 billion spent nationwide in 1986, in
the fight against drug abuse, $4.9 billion was spent by State and
local governments; and

WHEREAS, Drug abuse is a serious threat to the health of
Maryland citizens; and

WHEREAS, The Maryland Addictions Service Administration
estimates that 153,610 individuals in Maryland are incapable of
functioning normally due to drug abuse, and these individuals
represent approximately 4.7 percent of the State's population
between age 11 and 65; and

WHEREAS, In Maryland, there are approximately 98 different
agencies that have primary responsibility for control and
prevention of the use of illegal narcotics; and

- 5106 -