Senate bill targets methamphetamine problem

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sen. Jim Talent has introduced legislation aimed at snuffing the spread of methamphetamines by more harshly punishing distributors and enhancing treatment for addicts, he announced Wednesday.

The Republican senator's "Combat Meth Act" would sink $47 million in first-year funding of a plan to better train police, shift meth lab operators and traffickers into the federal court system, and track sales of legal substances used to create methamphetamines.

"In the 20 years that I have been involved in public life, this drug -- methamphetamine -- is the worst drug I have seen," Talent said. "This is a drug that's not only sold in our neighborhoods and used in our neighborhoods, but also made in our neighborhoods."

Missouri shut down 2,860 meth labs last year, more than any other state, and a figure authorities expect to increase this year.

Talent's plan, co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., would earmark the bulk of its funding, $30 million, to expand training of police investigating meth offenders. It would train local prosecutors to seek tougher penalties for meth cooks and traffickers by shifting their cases to federal courts. And it would provide grant money for programs supporting children affected by meth.

The bill also seeks to improve treatment options, though Talent said the components of that had not yet been finalized.

"We don't really have a treatment method in which we have confidence," he said.

Talent's proposal comes after the meth issue emerged this week in the presidential race. Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, outlined on Monday his ticket's plan to restrict sales of cold medicines with pseudoephedrine, used to make meth, as well as funding to help farmers better secure ammonia tanks, also used to make meth.

"Methamphetamine has become a cancer on rural areas and small towns in this country," Edwards said in a teleconference.

The battle against the highly addictive drug has become a campaign issue around the country, especially in states such as Missouri, where meth is prevalent. Both candidates for governor here have made battling meth -- which can be smoked, snorted or injected -- part of their platforms.

"Having a high-profile person of any type address the issue gives it some credence," said David Webber, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, referring to Edwards. "The three continuing themes of campaigns are economics, education and crime, and this could fall under crime."

Talent is not up for re-election this year and says addressing the meth problem requires a bipartisan approach.

"Methamphetamine has not been a partisan thing and should not be a partisan thing," he said. "This is something that threatens everybody."

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On the Net:

Talent: http://talent.senate.gov