Pubdate: Fri, 17 Feb 2006
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2006 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Jim Barnett
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

DRUG CZAR GETS EARFUL ON METH PROBLEMS

Policy - Lawmakers Say That The Nation Is Playing Catch-Up And That 
Policies Are Misdirected

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has squandered its chance to 
prevent a national epidemic of methamphetamine abuse and has undercut 
local efforts to fight meth-related crime, members of a congressional 
panel told Bush's drug czar Thursday.

"Instead of catching it at the beginning, we're now paying the price, 
an ongoing price, as a government and as a people," Rep. Patrick 
McHenry, R-N.C., told John Walters, head of the Office of National 
Drug Control Policy.

McHenry and other members of the government reform subcommittee on 
justice and drug policy sparred with Walters over priorities in 
Bush's proposed $12.7 billion drug-control budget for 2007, which was 
unveiled last week.

Although the proposal represents a 1 percent increase over 2006, some 
programs popular with Congress were recommended for cuts. Among them 
are federal assistance for local law enforcement agencies and funding 
for abuse-prevention programs in schools.

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chided Walters for cutting or neglecting 
assistance to local officials while also failing to develop a clear 
national strategy for dealing with the spread of meth, a highly 
addictive and damaging drug.

"You can't have it both ways," Souder said.

In the Senate, meanwhile, a procedural vote on Thursday cleared the 
way for passage of a bill that combines an array of controls on 
distribution and sales of pseudoephedrine, the essential ingredient 
in meth that is commonly found in decongestants.

Among other things, the bill would require retailers to keep 
regulated cold products behind the counter and enforce sales limits 
to individuals. It also would give the federal government power to 
track international shipments of bulk pseudoephedrine.

The procedural vote Thursday ended an impasse over an update of the 
USA Patriot Act, to which the meth bill had been included late last 
year. Supporters in both chambers predicted the bill would be 
delivered to Bush early next month.

Back in the House, Walters spent much of the afternoon defending 
Bush's budget proposal as well as his own performance as drug czar.

Given budget constraints, Walters said, his job entailed making 
difficult choices in deploying federal resources.

"I think my job is not to be popular," Walters said. "My job is to 
try to make the drug problem smaller."

To underscore his point, Walters showed the panel a map of the United 
States color-coded to show where high proportions of workers taking 
drug tests had proved positive for meth use in 2005.

While the map showed heaviest use in the West, the results were mixed 
within most states, Walters noted. The map shows that while meth is a 
problem in many communities, its arrival does not necessarily herald 
a national trend, he said.

Souder took exception, saying the map proved his point that meth had 
become a national problem. If Walters mapped drug-test results from 
prior years, he likely would see the drug's movement from west to 
east, Souder said.

But Walters held his ground, saying in essence that meth is a 
localized problem and should be dealt with accordingly.

"By hosing water everywhere, you don't put the fire out where it's 
most intense," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman