Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jul 2006
Source: News-Review, The (Roseburg, OR)
Copyright: 2006 The News-Review
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.info
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2623
Author: Sarah Skidmore, Associated Press Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG POLICY PRAISES OREGON EFFORTS

PORTLAND, Ore.  -- Oregon has set a national example in controlling 
methamphetamine, the official in charge of U.S. drug policy said Thursday.

John Walters, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, was in Portland to meet with local officials and community 
members involved in the fight against methamphetamine. He called 
Oregon's efforts -- ranging from aggressive crackdowns on meth labs 
to political support -- a model.

"We are winning," Walters said. "No one is taking a victory lap yet. 
We need to follow through."

Under rules effective July 1, Oregon requires a prescription to buy 
cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a chemical used in 
producing methamphetamine. Legislative analysts said Oregon is the 
only state with that requirement. Police officials credit earlier 
controls with reducing the number of home meth labs in the state.

Some figures show a decreased problem with meth in the state. In 
workplace testing, results showing the presence of amphetamines, 
including meth, hit a five year-low in Oregon this year, according to 
information released this week from testing services company Quest 
Diagnostics. And, the number of meth lab seizures decreased nearly 50 
percent in Oregon in the past year, according to Walter's office.

But the problem remains pressing, Walters and other drug control 
officials said.

A recent national survey by the National Association of Counties 
found that more than half of law enforcement officials still consider 
meth their primary drug problem.

Walters said the U.S. is working with a number of other countries, 
including Mexico, on improving controls on the trafficking in meth 
and supplies for its creation.

"There are more lives to save here that require our attention," Walters said.

Walters planned a meeting later Thursday with community members in 
Southeast Portland, where local groups have plans to make a community 
center out of a former drive-through coffee stand that federal 
officials said was used to sell cold medicine for meth production.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman