USA: Lawmakers critical of methamphetamine plan

WASHINGTON -- A White House plan to combat the mounting economic and social problems caused by illegal methamphetamine is "inadequate" and "embarrassing," GOP lawmakers say.

"This is not a national strategy," said Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. "They've got egg on their face."

The criticism from Grassley and others comes after the Bush administration issued an anti-meth plan Thursday that lawmakers say contains few new initiatives to fight what they describe as the nation's No. 1 drug problem.

Key elements of the plan would:

# Limit sales of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in illicit meth. Consumers would be allowed to buy a maximum 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine -- the equivalent of about 110 pills -- in a single purchase.

# Provide $16.2 million for meth treatment programs in seven states -- California, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, Montana, Georgia and New Mexico

# Provide more meth information to the public at a new government web site at: MethResources.gov.

# Provide $1 million for a federal anti-meth advertising campaign.

"The scourge of methamphetamine demands unconventional thinking and innovative solutions to fight the devastation it leaves behind," Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said in announcing the administration's new meth proposals.

But they would not be tough enough to stop people from "cooking" meth, lawmakers say.

The Bush plan also would not require that cold medicines be sold from behind pharmacy counters, a key part of congressional legislation proposed by Sen. Jim Talent, a Republican from Missouri, and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

Talent said the administration's plan would not keep meth manufacturers from "smurfing," or buying large quantities of pseudoephedrine by making multiple small purchases of cold medicine.

The bill proposed by Talent and Feinstein would limit consumer purchases of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine to 250 pills per month.

"Their plan is inadequate," Talent said of the White House strategy. "If they are not in the dark (about meth), they are in the twilight."

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org/amphetablog.html
Pubdate: Sat, 20th August 2005
Source: The Olympian (USA)
Author: Pamela Brogan
Copyright: 2005 The Olympian
Website: http://theolympian.com/