WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today continued his efforts to keep meth off the streets and out of the homes of Iowans. Legislation he co-sponsored with Senator Dianne Feinstein to help control meth precursor chemicals, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Iowa has been hit extraordinarily hard by the scourge of meth abuse. Passage of the Combat Meth Act in 2006 provided us with a good deal of success in reducing the domestic meth supply. But, we’re looking to do more to get this dangerous drug out of the hands of people across the country,” Grassley said. “Our bill will take tougher action to ensure all stores that sell meth precursor chemicals are in full compliance with the law.”
The Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act is designed to improve the effectiveness of the self-certification process required by the Combat Meth Act (signed into law in 2006). The bill does this by:
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requiring all regulated persons engaged in retail sales of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine products to self-certify that they have trained their personnel and agree to comply with the Combat Meth Act (currently, mail-order retailers of these drugs are exempted from the self-certification requirement);
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requiring distributors of these products to sell only to retailers who are either DEA-registered to sell controlled substances or who have filed such self-certifications with the DEA;
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requiring the DEA to provide a downloadable database of all retailers who have filed such self-certifications on its website, so that distributors can check their customers against this database to ensure compliance;
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and clarifying that a retailer who negligently fails to file self-certifications as required can face civil fines.
Grassley has long been a leader in the fight against illegal drugs and substance abuse. He led the effort to pass the Combat Meth Act which limits the amount of meth precursor drugs – such as pseudoephedrine – that a customer can buy and requires pharmacies to keep written or electronic logbooks recording each purchase of the drugs. The approach was based off successful state laws in Iowa and Oklahoma and has led to a drop in the number of meth labs discovered in many other states. He has also worked to raise awareness about the rising abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs across the country.
Here is the text of Grassley’s full statement on the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2009.
Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley
Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2009
Senate Committee on the Judiciary Executive Business Meeting
Mr. Chairman, I’m pleased to join my colleague, Senator Feinstein, in co-sponsoring the Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2009. As a Senator from a state that has been hard hit by the scourge of methamphetamine abuse, I can attest to the destructive impact methamphetamine production and abuse has had on communities across the Midwest. For years, we’ve heard countless, tragic stories of the lives impacted by meth. Whether it’s a child being raised in a meth lab, a life wasting away from years of abuse, or a community plagued by violence and crime associated with meth abuse, we are all united in the fight against meth.
We’ve had some success in the last few years in reducing the domestic supply of meth. Since the passage of the Combat Methamphetamine Act in 2006, the number of meth lab incidents has decreased significantly. In my state of Iowa, we’ve seen an 88% decline in the number of domestic meth labs since the implementation of a tough pseudoephedrine control law. This significant reduction in meth labs has increased public safety and freed up shrinking law enforcement resources to handle other drug-related issues. However, there is evidence that the number of domestic meth labs has leveled off or is actually increasing in some parts of the country. This increase is being attributed in part to “smurfing,” or going from pharmacy to pharmacy to illegally collect pseudoephedrine to manufacture meth. The National Drug Intelligence Center also attributes the expected increase of domestic labs in 2009 to tough precursor control laws in Mexico, which will help reduce the amount of meth crossing the border.
We cannot allow meth labs to return to our communities. Although the Combat Methamphetamine Act has made progress in cracking down on the number of domestic meth labs, it is time to take another step in controlling meth precursor chemicals. Current law requires most retail sellers of pseudoephedrine products to file a “self-certification,” attesting to their training of personnel about the law and its requirements such as behind-the-counter storage, logbook entries, and daily limits on sales, if they wish to sell products that could be used to manufacture meth. Unfortunately, the DEA has reported that thousands of retail sellers have not yet self-certified, and enforcement officials face difficulty in identifying these non-complying stores.
Tougher action must be taken to ensure all stores that sell meth precursor chemicals are in full compliance with the law. The Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2009 does just that. Under our bill, all regulated persons who sell ephedrine or pseudoephedrine will be required to self-certify that they have trained their personnel and agree to comply with the Combat Methamphetamine Act or face civil fines. Currently, mail-order retailers of these drugs are exempt from the self-certification requirement. The bill also requires all distributors of pseudoephedrine products to sell only to retailers who are DEA-registered or who have filed their self-certifications with the DEA. The DEA will be required to provide a downloadable database of all retailers who have filed such self-certifications on its website, so distributors can ensure their customers are in compliance with the law.
The Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act of 2009 won’t solve all the problems we face with meth, but it will go a long way in ensuring further control on the main ingredient in meth production. I urge all of my colleagues to join us in passing this important and necessary bill.
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