WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley has introduced two pieces of legislation, along with Senator Dianne Feinstein, to help keep drugs out of the hands of kids.  The Senators introduced legislation that would penalize drug dealers who market candy-flavored meth and other drugs to children.  They also introduced legislation to clarify provisions of the 2005 Combat Methamphetamine Enforcement Act (Combat Meth Act) by requiring distributors of meth precursor chemicals to certify that they only distribute products to retailers that comply with the 2005 law. 

            “It’s disturbing that drug dealers are trying to lure teens and young kids by flavoring drugs to taste like candy.  This latest craze needs to be dealt with before it’s too late,” Grassley said.  “We’ve also got to make sure our law enforcement has the tools they need to adequately enforce the laws we pass.  The legislation that Senator Feinstein and I have introduced should make drug dealers think twice about selling candy flavored drugs to our kids and help law enforcement keep the Combat Meth Act effective.”

            The candy-flavored meth bill comes after reports detailing the growing trend of candy-flavored meth.  According to law enforcement officers and drug treatment officials, methamphetamine and other illegal drugs are being colored, packaged and flavored in ways designed to attract children and minors. 

Grassley said the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act is vital to helping law enforcement locate retail establishments that sell methamphetamine precursors, but have failed to certify and register their compliance with the 2005 law.  This will help ensure that all retail locations across the country are following the law and keeping precursors out of the hands of meth cooks. 

Grassley has long been a leader in the fight against illegal drugs and substance abuse. He led the effort to pass the Combat Meth Act which limits the amount of meth precursor drugs – such as pseudoephedrine – that a customer can buy and requires pharmacies to keep written or electronic logbooks recording each purchase of the drugs. The approach was based off successful state laws in Iowa and Oklahoma and has led to a drop in the number of meth labs discovered in many other states.  He has also worked to raise awareness about the rising abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs across the country.

Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act (candy-flavored meth bill)

Currently, federal law enhances the criminal penalties that apply when a person sells drugs to anyone under age 21.  When this occurs, the federal penalties are doubled (or tripled for a repeat offense), and a penalty of at least one year must be applied.  But this enhancement only applies if actual “distribution” to a minor is proven.

The Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act would apply the current penalty enhancement to anyone who “manufactures, creates, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute a controlled substance that is flavored, colored, packaged or otherwise altered in a way that is designed to make it more appealing to a person under 21 years of age, or who attempts or conspires to do so.”

Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act

The Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act is designed to improve the effectiveness of this self-certification process required by the Combat Meth Act (signed into law in 2005) by requiring all regulated persons engaged in retail sales of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine products to self-certify that they have trained their personnel and agree to comply with the Combat Meth Act (currently, mail-order retailers of these drugs are exempted from the self-certification requirement); requiring distributors of these products to sell only to retailers who are either DEA-registered to sell controlled substances or who have filed such self-certifications with the DEA; requiring the DEA to provide a downloadable database of all retailers who have filed such self-certifications on its website, so that distributors can check their customers against this database to ensure compliance; and clarifying that a retailer who negligently fails to file self-certifications as required can face civil fines.