Attorney General Eric Holder, who is stepping down, will not be missed by Americans worried about the drug abuse epidemic. With support from his boss, President Barack Obama, Holder in effect declared a truce in the war on drugs.

The result? Drug abuse has increased substantially during the last six years. It has become much more acceptable among young people. “Teens in 10th grade in 2013 saw regular marijuana use as less of a threat than those in 10th grade in 2008,” the Department of Health and Human Services website notes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors drug use through samples representing the entire population, estimates that in 2008, 8 percent of Americans 12 years of age and older had used an illicit drug within the previous month. By 2012, the percentage had increased to 9.2.

Among high school seniors, 19.4 percent had used marijuana in 2008, while 22.9 percent had in 2012.

All of this should lead U.S. senators to ask one question of Obama’s nominee to replace Holder: Do you intend to battle drug abuse – or excuse it while failing to enforce federal law fully?