Senators Feinstein, Hutchinson, Kohl Introduce Bill to Provide $125.5 Million to Fight Methamphetamine

Senators Feinstein, Hutchinson, Kohl Introduce Bill to
Provide $125.5 Million to Fight Methamphetamine
July 19, 2002

-- Bill Would Aid Law Enforcement With Drug Cleanup and Close
'Blister Pack Loophole' -

Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tim Hutchinson (R-Arkansas) and Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) today introduced bipartisan legislation to provide $125.5 million to fund cleanup of methamphetamine labs and to train state and local law enforcement agents for prosecution of meth offenses.

"The threat from methamphetamine is much different than other illegal drugs because it can be made from readily available and legal chemicals and substances, and is extremely dangerous to both humans and our environment," Senator Feinstein said. "This legislation would help on both fronts. It would give enforcement tools for prosecuting meth dealers and help clean up abandoned labs."

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, for every pound of methamphetamine produced, five to seven pounds of hazardous waste results from the production as well. The cost of decontaminating these sites ranges from $5,000 to $150,000 per site. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spent more than $22 million cleaning up 6,609 labs nationwide.

$30 million a year in new funding to help clean up abandoned meth labs;
$30 million to train police in how to conduct such cleanups safely;
$20 million to schools and education groups for anti-meth programs;
$12.5 million for treatment of meth abuse and related health impacts;
$30 million for training of state and local prosecutors and law enforcement agents for prosecution of meth offenses, including $5 million; and $3 million for studies on the impact of meth.

The bill will also include a provision to close the "Blister Pack Loophole," which will make it harder for methamphetamine manufacturers to obtain large quantities of pseudoephedrine, which is necessary to make their product.

"Under current law, meth dealers can buy an unlimited supply of pills in blister packs to use in their production process and 9 grams of pseudoephedrine in bottles," Senator Feinstein said. "The bill would limit the retail sales to just 9 grams for all pseudoephedrine products. This will still allow consumers to purchase weeks or months worth of cold medicine at once, but will prevent large-scale purchases by meth dealers."

Once predominantly found the U.S. Southwest, methamphetamine's presence now stretches from coast to coast. Once predominantly found in rural areas, its harmful effects now extend from the nation's smallest towns to its largest cities. For example, the number of clandestine meth labs discovered in North Carolina has doubled every year for the past four years.

California is considered the "source country" for methamphetamine, producing roughly 80 percent of the nation's methamphetamine.

Senator Feinstein has long been a leader in the fight against the production and distribution of methamphetamine. Senator Feinstein was also instrumental in establishing the Central Valley High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force, and securing four additional DEA agents to staff the HIDTA. Last year, the task force closed down 55 meth labs and seized 280 pounds of finished meth.

She also co-authored the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996, which restricted access to certain precursor chemicals used in making methamphetamine and substantially increased penalties for the sale and possessions of chemicals or equipment used to make methamphetamine.