Columns
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
providing hope in the fight against meth
As Iowans are well aware, meth is one of the most deadly, addictive, and rapidly spreading drugs in our nation's history. It is ravaging rural and urban communities alike. And it is leaving a path of destruction - human, financial, and environmental - that is staggering. The meth epidemic truly is a public health crisis, as well as public safety crisis.
Iowa has led the nation with tough new anti-meth laws and aggressive enforcement. At the federal level, I have worked to pass the Combat Meth Act to secure funding for regional anti-meth task forces. I have also obtained funds to lock up anhydrous ammonia tanks across Iowa.
We have had successes, including reducing the number of meth labs in Iowa by almost 80 percent. This is great news in that it saves kids from being exposed to the toxic labs, frees up local law enforcement resources, saves cleanup costs, and results in less property and environmental contamination. Unfortunately, meth is still flooding in from out of state.
Nationwide, we have not been aggressive in preventing meth addiction in the first place, and in providing treatment to help addicts to break their dependency. Meth is more addictive than crack cocaine or heroin. More than 50 percent of meth users started when they were under age 18.
Recently, I met with law enforcement officers and treatment providers in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines and they told me that prevention and treatment are the keys to stopping this epidemic. Yet this is exactly where we are falling short. There are 22 million Americans in need of treatment for substance addiction, with less than three million able to get help.
These startling statistics led me to introduce the Methamphetamine Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. This legislation aggressively steps up efforts to prevent meth addiction and provide more treatment options. On the prevention side, my bill provides grants to schools and communities for meth prevention programs. It creates a telephone help line and an online Parent Resource Center to provide live support and help in finding intervention and treatment resources.
At the same time, the bill takes a comprehensive approach to treatment. We know that with proper treatment, meth addicts can recover and live productive lives. Every dollar spent on treatment saves taxpayers seven dollars, largely by reducing crime, incarceration, and health care costs.
My bill promotes a range of treatment programs and increases access to treatment in rural and underserved areas. It also includes family-based treatment. Substance abuse by parents is the culprit in some 70 percent of child welfare spending, yet only 10 percent of child welfare agencies report that they can find substance abuse programs for mothers and children. We need to boost family-based treatment services, including programs that offer alternatives to incarceration for addicted parents.
More broadly, we need to provide alternatives to jail or detention. Right now, some 80 percent of jail inmates have had a substance abuse problem. One key to preventing recidivism and continual cycling through the criminal justice system is to provide effective treatment to non-violent juveniles and adults as an alternative to incarceration.
My bill also boosts services to help recovering addicts make the transition from treatment to the community, including housing assistance and help finding work, education, and mental health services. These things are critical to long-term abstinence and recovery.
We must continue to fight the meth epidemic that is plaguing our country by investing in treatment and prevention. This drug tears apart families and is a heavy burden on our communities and our justice and health care systems. Now is the time to dedicate our resources to getting this problem under control.
