Attorney general, drug czar: Meth fight continues

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The effort to stop methamphetamine is working, but is far from over, Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Drug Czar John Walters said Wednesday during an international conference in St. Louis.

Mukasey and Walters were joined at the National Methamphetamine Chemicals Initiative by federal, state and local officials and representatives from Mexico, Canada, Germany, China and India. The location was appropriate: Missouri continues to lead the nation in meth lab seizures.

But progress has been made here and elsewhere. Walters cited survey data showing that youth meth use has declined 64 percent in the U.S. since 2001. Workplace drug screenings have shown a decline in positive tests for meth by more than 50 percent over the past two years. Meth lab seizures are down 70 percent since 2004, and the price of the illegal drug rose 84 percent from January 2007 to December, evidence that meth makers are having a harder time getting their hands on precursors.

"We have clearly weakened this threat through a domestic and international effort," Walters said. "Our goal now is to crush it."

As part of that effort, Walters, Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora and China Deputy General Liu Yuejin signed a joint statement agreeing to work together and to increase efforts to keep precursors away from illegal drug traffickers.

Global cooperation is critical, Medina Mora said.

"To face this problem, there cannot be another way but to do it with the international community," he said.

China, India and Germany are among the top exporters of chemicals used in meth production. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are major importers of the precursors.

Walters cited U.S. laws restricting the sale of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient used to cook meth, and efforts to stop drug trafficking from Mexico for disrupted the market. Mexico has gone even further, ceasing to issue import permits for key meth precursor chemicals.

Mukasey said some meth makers in the U.S. are getting around the restricted sales through a process known as "smurfing," enlisting several people to buy pseudoephedrine at amounts up to the legal limit from several different pharmacies.

Still, progress has been substantial. The Office of National Drug Control Policy said there were 17,170 meth lab incidents (labs, dump sites, findings of meth-related equipment) in 2004. That was down to 5,080 last year. Oregon had 472 incidents four years ago, 20 last year.

Missouri had 2,788 meth lab incidents in 2004, 1,189 last year. Still, the number of meth lab incidents in Missouri in 2007 was more than double the second-highest state, Indiana, which had 564 incidents.

"Two years ago, three years ago, we weren't sure we could stop the proliferation of meth," Walters said. "What's happening is we've found a series of tools that make a difference. Controlling precursors is a key to that."