From Deseret News archives:
Caucus frustrated over meth
Rather, a caucus of 127 representatives — more than one-fourth the entire House — is demanding the Bush administration pay more than lip service to the nation's growing methamphetamine epidemic.
"It is frustrating we are not getting the reaction (from the White House), that it is not being dealt with as seriously by the administration as we intended as a caucus," said Rep. Chris Cannon , R-Utah and co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine. He said they "want to see the administration serious about getting something done."
Members of the caucus spilled out their frustration Wednesday after meeting with administration officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the State Department, Homeland Security and the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Drug Policy, was livid, saying administration officials did not answer their questions and were "pathetic" in their defense of "what they call a national strategy." And if they continue in that defense, "it's time for top people to resign," he said.
Cannon would not go that far, but he understands the frustration Souder and others are feeling. It is nigh impossible to get the White House's attention on the seriousness of the methamphetamine problem that has gripped Utah and most other states.
Utah has a serious methamphetamine problem. It was one of only two states that saw meth arrests double over a one-year period, Cannon said. And now the state is seeing an influx of methamphetamine from "super labs" in Mexico.
"Clearly, Utah is on the front edge of the problem," he said. "We work very hard at it, and there has been a lot of cracking down on mom-and-pop shops. But in a world where drug use is declining, methamphetamine use has doubled."
Members of the caucus took issue with the White House's insistence that anti-drug policy be targeted at marijuana instead of meth, which they said is destroying lives across the nation. The administration's response was to strip money for local law enforcement, treatment and education.
Thirty-nine representatives committed to attend the press briefing following the meeting with administration officials, and none had kind words for the White House approach to methamphetamine abuse.
"We are anxious the administration apply resources to this problem," Cannon said. "I understand a lot of things are going on, that we are in the middle of a complicated world. We want to make sure the administration understands how important this is, that it's a horrible, horrible problem."
E-mail: spang@desnews.com
