Pubdate: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 Source: South Bend Tribune (IN) Copyright: 2006 South Bend Tribune Contact: http://www.southbendtribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/621 INDIANA CONGRESSMAN SAYS DESPITE PROGRESS, METH WON'T 'GO AWAY' An Indiana congressman who has led the U.S. House drug policy panel said the country needs to be prepared for a long-term fight against methamphetamine abuse even though the drug's spread seems to have slowed. One frustration Republican Rep. Mark Souder said he has had was that several states, including Indiana, had to pass laws restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient used to cook meth - before Congress took action. The federal Combat Meth Act took effect this year. "It was exasperating at first at the political level that it took so long to muster the will to try to address it," Souder said Thursday to a group of government and police officials and prevention and treatment specialists gathered at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne for the first National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. Souder said he believed meth has become known as a "bad drug" following publicity campaigns that included graphic photos showing the effects of the drug on the appearances and teeth of its users. While national statistics show meth lab seizures had declined, Souder said users now are turning to imported meth, which is cheaper in some markets and more pure. "Meth will not go away because meth has certain properties that other drugs won't give you," said Souder, who will lose his chairmanship of the drug policy subcommittee with the Democratic takeover of the House in January. A federal report says that the nationwide number of meth labs busted or otherwise discovered by authorities dropped by 51 percent - from 6,472 in the first four months of 2005 to 3,160 in the same period of 2006. Indiana, meanwhile, has recorded 23 percent fewer lab seizures since the state's pseudoephedrine registry law took effect in July 2005, said state police Sgt. Niki Crawford, head of the agency's meth suppression unit. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine