Abercrombie urges White House to step up fight agaisnt Ice

“Ice is one of the most serious problems facing Hawaii, and it’s having in impact on other parts of the country as well,” said Abercrombie.  “We’ve seen it destroy families, afflict thousands of individuals of all ages and blight our communities.  Law enforcement is doing a heroic job with the resources they have, but they need more help.  It’s not clear that the White House appreciates the urgency of the situation.  I’m trying put ice on their radar screen and generate greater support for the people and agencies on the front lines of this battle.”

Abercrombie and 34 other members of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine made the plea in a letter to John Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The letter, dated November 3, reads:

Dear Director Walters:

Representing the 130-member bipartisan Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, we urge you and your staff to increase your response to the growing meth epidemic.  We appreciate the National Synthetic Drugs Action Plan that was released last fall and view it as a positive first step.  As you draft the President’s National Drug Control Strategy for 2006, aggressive and additional efforts are needed to raise the profile of methamphetamine as part of the nation’s overall drug interdiction strategy.

As you know, we hosted a meth roundtable discussion in September that was attended by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as well as six other agencies.  From that discussion we understand the Administration believes its response to the meth

epidemic in America is appropriate.  As stated by many Members at the roundtable, we do not agree with that assessment.  Meth is ravaging this nation, and while the National Synthetic Drugs Action Plan is a small shift in the right direction, it is hardly the comprehensive federal leadership the problem demands.

While meth use began on the West Coast, it is now devastating the Midwest and is emerging on the East Coast.  According to a July survey by the National Association of Counties, 58 percent of reporting counties identify meth as their largest drug problem.  The 2004 Monitoring the Future Study found 6.2 percent of our nation’s high school seniors reported lifetime meth use.  In addition, nationwide seizures of meth labs have significantly increased, from 7,438 labs in 1999 to 17,170 labs in 2004, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Attorney General Gonzales also has recognized meth as the “epidemic” it is and ONDCP Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs Scott Burns recognized meth as “the most destructive, dangerous, terrible drug that’s come along in a long time.”  This is a drug that requires a higher priority than it has previously been given in the Drug Control Strategy.

Methamphetamine’s destructive nature permeates every aspect of society.  Meth is strongly linked to identity theft, increased cases of child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and crime rates in general.  In addition, meth has disastrous impacts on the environment.  For every pound of meth produced, five to six pounds of toxic waste are left behind, contaminating the surrounding neighborhood and environment.  Meth lab investigations require special health and haz-mat procedures and specially trained investigative personnel to collect and handle evidence seized.

We are concerned that the Administration has consistently proposed cutting important programs that help our local law enforcement in their fight against meth.  Both the Edward Byrnes Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program (Byrne-JAG) and the Community Oriented Policing Services program (COPS) provide resources to multi-jurisdictional drug task forces.  Without these funds many task forces will fold.  Yet the budgets for these two critical programs have been proposed for elimination or severe reductions in recent years.  This shows a lack of understanding of the needs of our local law enforcement.

In crafting your National Drug Control Strategy for 2006 we include the following recommendations:

Law Enforcement

· Support funding for the Byrne-JAG and COPS programs.

· Continue to work with Canada and Mexico to stem the flow of precursors into the United States.

· Encourage states to develop a statewide commission that creates and directs partnerships against meth.

· Endorse federal measures that would reduce the amount of pseudoephedrine available for sale to consumers.

· Advocate better monitoring of individuals that purchase above average amounts of pseudoephedrine.

· Assist states to develop state-specific clandestine drug laboratory training.

Prevention

· Devote specific accounts to “meth prevention” education rather than broader “drug prevention” education.

· Develop a nation-wide prevention initiative.  Many states, including Washington state and South Dakota, have innovative examples.

Treatment

·    Expand the drug court system and develop programs specifically for methamphetamine users.

·    Make available research on the best practices for meth treatment

Environmental Clean Up

· Develop national guidelines for the remediation of former meth labs and establish a standard for when a former lab is safe to inhabit.

Drug Endangered Children

· Develop national guidelines for states to use in working with law enforcement and social service agencies to collaboratively establish methods to respond to meth labs and ensure child safety.

· Establish a study of health effects on children who have been exposed to meth labs.

We appreciate your attention to this matter.  If you or your staff have any questions or require additional information, please contact Allison Dane with Representative Rick Larsen at (202) 225-2605 or Deena Contreras with Representative Ken Calvert at (202) 225-1986.

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