Pubdate: Thu, 29 Sep 2005
Source: News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA)
Contact:  2005 Tacoma News Inc.
Website: http://www.thenewstribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/442
Author: Les Blumenthal The News Tribune
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CONGRESSMEN BLAST FEDERAL METH PLAN

WASHINGTON - Two Washington state lawmakers remained critical of the
White House effort to curb growing methamphetamine abuse after meeting
Wednesday with some of the administration's top drug control officials.

"We are frustrated because people are dying and the administration is
putting Band-Aids on it," said Rep. Brian Baird (D-Vancouver), one of
the founders of the House meth caucus. "While this meeting was
certainly informative, it failed to answer a lot of my questions and
concerns."

One co-chairman of the 127-member caucus, Rep. Rick Larsen
(D-Everett), said local police officials and others are overextended
as they struggle to contain the spread of meth, arguing federal
support has become increasingly essential.

"There is frustration in Congress about the lack of action," Larsen
said. "I hope administration officials got the message today."

Washington state has some of the most serious meth problems in the
nation, and Pierce County has been at the epicenter. The state ranked
sixth among all states with almost 950 "clandestine laboratory
incidents" in 2004. So far this year, more than three times as many
meth labs have been found in Pierce County than in any other county in
the state.

The drug, which can be injected, snorted, smoked or ingested orally,
is a "chemical cocktail" cooked up in labs. Meth is considered highly
addictive and can lead to psychotic, belligerent and unstable behavior
by users.

Larsen, Baird and other members of the bipartisan caucus say the
administration has sought to eliminate or sharply cut federal funding
for meth-related programs. And they say administration officials have
sought to downplay the meth threat and, instead, focus on marijuana
even as a survey showed local police officials consider meth the
nation's No. 1 drug problem.

Baird called the administration's approach to meth "inadequate,
disjointed and counterproductive."

Though Baird and Larsen criticized the administration, the sharpest
comments came from Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.).

"There is no national strategy," Souder said. "They presented no new
proposals and it is pathetic to try and defend them. Their proposals
are piecemeal. It's an embarrassment."

Administration officials on Wednesday defended their efforts and said
the meeting with lawmakers was a "frank, direct but positive" exchange
of ideas.

"Sure there were tough questions, but we gave back good answers," said
David Murray, special assistant to the director of the White House's
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Murray said the administration had never downplayed the seriousness of
meth and had a strategic approach when it came to drug control
involving meth, cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

"We can walk and chew gum at the same time," he said, adding that over
the past three years meth use by teenagers was down 25 percent. "It
doesn't mean the battle is over, but it is progress."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake