By Cory Reiss, Washington Bureau Source: Wilmington Star Washington, D.C. -- North Carolina authorities busted 317 methamphetamine labs last year, but Attorney General Roy Cooper doesn't just credit hardworking cops. He blames a booming meth industry. In 1999, only six labs were seized in the Tar Heel State, according to statistics from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, making North Carolina the fastest growing meth spot on the East Coast. “It's being manufactured in the house next door, in the apartment down the hall or even a hotel room in a hotel where you might be staying,†Mr. Cooper said last week in an interview. Mr. Cooper said he was trying to dislodge legislation from the state House, which the N.C. Senate has passed, that would regulate common cold medicines containing the key meth ingredient pseudoephedrine. The legislation hit resistance from some retailers with an alternative bill. North Carolina is among 42 states that have passed or are trying to pass such a law, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. States are weaving a patchwork of laws and prompting questions about the federal response. To date, the federal answer to meth has been muddled, and it exposes a dispute over how best to fight the war on drugs. While states say they need more help, President Bush's administration is trying to cut several programs that local officials say are key to reinforcing their front lines, especially against methamphetamine. Critics say the White House remains focused on the traditional targets of marijuana and to a lesser extent cocaine while attempting to reorient federal dollars limited by the war on terrorism toward high-level drug rings. Congress appears inclined to restore many of Mr. Bush's cuts out of concern for local agencies combating a drug made by small-time “cooks†virtually anywhere, but usually in rural areas. The ingredients are highly toxic and highly flammable, often resulting in serious explosions. A report by the National Association of Counties last week said nearly 60 percent of counties consider meth to be their biggest drug problem. Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that has effects similar to cocaine but lasts longer and is cheaper. Critics say Congress has been slow to clamp down on common cold medicines, which include meth ingredients ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Congress is wrestling with legislation, but it is unclear how quick, strong or comprehensive that effort will be. “It is a scourge that is coming quickly, and we have to take steps now to fight it,†Mr. Cooper said. Common Cold State and federal lawmakers warn that states have been forced to move ahead of Capitol Hill and are creating a patchwork of different laws that leave neighboring states vulnerable to traveling labs. The strictest laws, in states such as Oklahoma, regulate more medications and control monthly sales to each person. Other laws only limit the amounts that can be purchased at any one time. “In the political world, you deal with the art of the possible,†said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of Drug Control, whose state passed a law this year that regulates a few medicines and limits amounts per transaction, “so we came up with what we thought was a pragmatic law with the backing of all players.†Congress is considering a slew of bills that would regulate cold medicines nationwide and address related problems. House members say legislation could reach the floor as early as this month. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and James Talent, R-Mo., are pushing legislation that would limit purchases of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine per person each month. Logs would be kept and identification checked. But retailers have fought such measures in many states. “This is a major tool in the battle against meth,†said Scott Gerber, spokesman for Ms. Feinstein. Rungs of The Ladder According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 7,438 meth labs were dismantled in 1999 nationwide and 17,033 last year. Busts in California have dropped in that period, from 2,579 to 753, but they have surged from Missouri to North Carolina. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy stresses the need to control ingredients for meth, and it agrees the drug poses new problems. But the administration proposed eliminating a $805 million grant program in the Department of Justice, cutting the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program in the Department of Education by 53 percent, making a 60 percent cut for grants to address meth hot spots and slashing by more than half the multi-county and multi-agency grants under the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, or HIDTA, from $228 million to $100 million. Critics say those programs are important in their fight against meth. Marc Wheat, a top aide to Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, said Congress has been forced to protect existing programs instead of “trying to advance the ball on fixing some things we think are problematic.†“We've been troubled by it,†he said. Moreover, the administration proposed moving HIDTA out of the Office of National Drug Control Policy into the Department of Justice. Observers say that is an effort to gain control over an office that was created by executive order yet has the distinction of containing programs created and controlled by Congress, including HITDA, which is the office's largest. The White House says anti-drug spending throughout the federal government would rise 2 percent under the president's budget proposal, and it is working to block international sources of methamphetamine that account for an estimated 80 percent of U.S. consumption. “I do not think we have neglected or diminished any one of those rungs of the ladder,†said David Murray, an administration policy analyst. Administration officials also say programs are targeted for big cuts or elimination because they haven't proven effective and the budget is tight. The justice grants, drug free schools program and HIDTA have become mostly “revenue sharing†projects with states, said a spokesman for the drug policy office. The House has restored many of the proposed cuts in 2006 spending bills and refused to move the HIDTA program, but the Senate has not settled these questions. This debate reveals a struggle over the course of the drug war just as Congress is considering reauthorization of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a process that sets direction and goals for coming years. For example, the drug policy office complains it has been unable to focus HIDTA on organized crime and drug rings, which explains its plan to move the program to a unit in the Justice Department dealing with organized crime. Outdated Vision? Some critics say the administration would sacrifice funding for local law enforcement – which they call especially critical with rising meth use – to break up high-level rings while saving for the war on terrorism. “That seems to be the goal,†said Abbey Levenshus, spokeswoman for Rep. Rick Larsen, a Washington Democrat who is co-chairman of the Congressional Meth Caucus. “It's been a struggle. People are afraid of terrorists, but right now, they're more afraid of the meth house that's down the street.†Some local officials and lawmakers say the White House is clinging to an outdated view of the drug problem. Joe Dunn, a lobbyist with the National Association of Counties, said the administration is missing a crisis. “Their main focus has been on marijuana,†he said, “and from what our people are telling us, it's methamphetamine that is the problem.†Note: States battle meth, get little fed help. Source: Wilmington Star (NC) Author: Cory Reiss, Washington Bureau Published: July 11, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Wilmington Star-News Website: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/ Contact: chuck.riesz@starnewsonline.com Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20947.shtml
Editorial Source: Michigan Daily Michigan -- Methamphetamine use has been gaining popularity nationwide in recent years. According to a survey of 500 sheriff's offices in 45 states released last week, nearly three-fifths of counties viewed meth as their most pressing drug problem. Despite evidence of a growing epidemic, the Bush administration still unwisely prioritizes marijuana as the focus of its fight against drug use. Every year, the federal government wastes billions of dollars fighting this fairly harmless drug, and the recent report is another telling sign of the continued misallocation of resources in America's poorly managed war against drugs. Just prior to the survey's release, the Office of National Drug Control Policy reaffirmed its commitment to fighting marijuana use as the nation's most serious drug problem. The office's argument hinges on the overwhelming number of pot users - 15 million, versus a mere one million for meth. This assessment fails to consider, however, that the effects of meth are often deadly while marijuana is essentially harmless. As a synthetic stimulant with effects similar to cocaine, meth is highly addictive, and long-term use may cause psychological problems, immune system impairment and even death. It can cause aggressive behavior, and its use has been linked to unprotected and promiscuous sex, resulting in a disproportionate number of users infected with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Additionally, meth labs are dangerous, produce toxic waste and have been known to catch fire or explode. Meth-related crimes are overwhelming law enforcement officials, and meth abuse and addiction are greatly contributing the overflow of patients that many drug-focused health centers are now facing. In contrast, marijuana presents few health risks and has legitimate therapeutic value. The only threat a typical marijuana user poses to society is an insatiable hunger for Doritos. Because of its value as a painkiller and anti-nausea medication, medicinal marijuana has been legalized in many states and cities like Ann Arbor. After two years of hearings on medicinal marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administrative Law Judge Francis Young found in 1988 that marijuana was one of the safest therapeutic drugs available and said, “In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume.†Considering that the federal government spends over $12 billion fighting drugs each year, it is surprising that the administration remains so out of touch with the reality of drug enforcement. The war on drugs unwisely targets the supply side of drug trafficking and has been ineffective in curbing drug use - while usage has fallen since the late 1970s, recent years have shown leveling off and even increases in use among all age groups. The money spent fighting drugs has been generally misallocated, unless fueling violence abroad and crowding prisons with nonviolent drug offenders can be considered worthy ends. Providing funds to prevent the abuse of dangerous drugs and to offer treatment for recovering addicts could be worthy uses of federal funds, but the administration's stance on marijuana is instead reminiscent of the misguided prohibition era, with law enforcement frantically trying to stop the production and sale of a drug that poses comparatively little danger to individuals or society as a whole. Like a stubborn child, the federal government foolishly sticks to its commitment to combating marijuana, demonstrating yet again its failure to properly assess and handle drug abuse. Complete Title: The Tired War on Pot: Marijuana Use Not Nation's Biggest Drug Problem Source: Michigan Daily (MI Edu) Published: July 11, 2005 Copyright: 2005 The Michigan Daily Contact: daily.letters@umich.edu Website: http://www.michigandaily.com/ Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20946.shtml
By Bruce Mirken Source: Buffalo News USA -- Earlier this month, a survey from the National Association of Counties reported that local law enforcement agencies think the federal government has its anti-drug priorities backward, putting too much emphasis on marijuana and not enough on truly lethal drugs like methamphetamine. Now a new report suggests that even the federal government's top drug cops - the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration - know something is very wrong. They'll never say it explicitly, of course. Executive branch agencies don't openly criticize White House policies. But the message in the DEA's 2005 "National Drug Threat Assessment" - prepared in February but released with no publicity this month - is unmistakable: The war on marijuana is a failure, and cops overwhelmingly see meth as a greater threat. For reasons no one outside the Bush administration understands, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under director John Walters has been obsessed with marijuana. In November 2002, the office sent a letter to the nation's prosecutors declaring flatly, "Nationwide, no drug matches the threat posed by marijuana." That emphasis has continued, most visibly in ONDCP's press conferences, news releases and ad campaigns. Recent efforts have included highly dubious claims that marijuana causes mental illness and even more dubious claims that marijuana causes lung cancer. America's police have different priorities, the DEA found. Asked to identify the greatest drug threat in their communities, only 12 percent of local law enforcement agencies named marijuana - a figure that has been declining for years. In contrast, 35.6 percent named cocaine and 39.6 cited methamphetamine as the greatest threat - despite the fact that marijuana use is much more common. The DEA said, "Data indicate that, despite the volume of marijuana trafficked and used in this country, for many in law enforcement marijuana is much less an immediate problem than methamphetamine, for example, which is associated with more tangible risks such as violent users and toxic production sites." While sucking resources away from more serious drug problems, the government's war on marijuana hasn't even succeeded on its own terms. Despite the eradication of some 31/2 million marijuana plants last year, the DEA could find "no reports of a trend toward decreased availability" anywhere in the country. And rates of marijuana use among both adults and teens remain higher than they were when President Nixon first declared "War on Drugs" more than three decades ago. "Indeed," the report noted, "reporting from some areas has suggested that marijuana is easier for youths to obtain than alcohol or cigarettes." This is crazy. America desperately needs drug policies based on science, reason and common sense. If the current regime at ONDCP is incapable of moving in that direction, the president must replace director Walters with someone who lets policy be guided by facts, not ideology. Bruce Mirken, a longtime health journalist, now serves as director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. Source: Buffalo News (NY) Author: Bruce Mirken Published: July 23, 2005 Copyright: 2005 The Buffalo News Website: http://www.buffalonews.com/ Contact: LetterToEditor@buffnews.com Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20987.shtml