WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today sent a letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy questioning the agency’s work to stop the use of methamphetamine in the United States. The letter was sent with Sen. Joe Biden, co-chairman of the Caucus.
"Meth has negatively impacted the lives of many, many people across the country in the last several years. Sadly, it’s not just the users who are hurt, it’s the children, families and society that suffer just as much," Grassley said. "We need to put a stop to this deadly, addictive drug."
Grassley said that while ONDCP seems to have ignored continued signs of Meth’s growing popularity, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales recently gave a speech that shows an understanding of the damage meth causes to children and society. He commended Attorney General Gonzales in a separate letter.
Here is a copy of the letter from Grassley and Biden to Director Walters.
August 1,2005
John Walters
Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy
750 17th St. NW
Washington, DC 20006
Dear Director Walters,
We are writing to share with you our growing concern over the direction in which the Office of National Drug Control Policy is going with regard to problems presented by methamphetamine in the United States. Meth is a terribly addictive drug that continues to devastate families and communities and deplete the resources of law enforcement across the country.
We are aware of your goal to reduce drug use in the United States by 25 percent over 5 years. While we commend you for setting such a goal, we are troubled by the strategy to achieve this goal and the way in which the results are being measured. We know that different drugs have different rates of use. Marijuana is a much more popular drug in terms of the number of people who use it. However, methamphetamine causes much more destruction in a much shorter period of time than marijuana. We believe that reducing drug use is not just about reducing the number of users of a drug, but reducing the overall harm to society caused by the drug.
According to the Attorney General, 45 meth labs or dump sites have been seized each day by law enforcement over the last three years. The labs themselves are polluted with toxic waste that seeps into the ground and any body of water near the lab. Many of these labs explode or catch fire due to the mixture of toxic chemicals being used to make the drug. Children who have been exposed to toxic chemicals and subjected to neglect and all forms of abuse imaginable are often found inside homes that contain meth labs. The cooks running the labs are frequently armed with guns and have been known to set traps for law enforcement to protect their lab from being dismantled. Meth users are known to be unusually violent due to the paranoia they suffer from using the drug to feed their addiction. Parents have killed their own children because they were either high on meth and had a violent outburst or they were coming down from their high and unable to protect their children from every day dangers such as drowning in the bathtub.
While we agree that any drug use is harmful to users and those around them, the problems
associated with marijuana are not comparable to methamphetamine in terms of cost to society.
In an effort to learn what your office has been doing to address the problem of meth use,
production and trafficking, please provide us with answers to the following questions:
1. What speeches have you given to highlight the problems surrounding meth use, production and trafficking?
2. Have you personally attended any conferences or summits where methamphetamine has been the topic of discussion?
3. Has your office provided any support to state and local law enforcement to help address methamphetamine problems in the United States? If so, please detail the assistance provided.
4. Has your office been involved in helping states develop model laws to address problems surrounding the use, production and trafficking of methamphetamine?
5. Has your office developed a strategy for use by state and local officials to deal with the use, production and trafficking of methamphetamine?
6. Has your office worked to coordinate federal agencies to address environmental, law enforcement, child welfare and health effects of methamphetamine and develop a coordinated national response? If so, how?
7. Over the years, Congress has repeatedly put more money into the HIDTA program than requested by the Administration. The discretionaryportion of the appropriation is usually around $20 million per year. How much of that money has been used for marijuana initiatives such as eradication? How much has been allocated to address the problem of methamphetamine production and trafficking?
8. HIDTA has a program called the National Methamphetamine Chemical Initiative. We have heard this program is very proactive in addressing precursors, chemicals, training, toxic effects identifying "hot spots," and coordinating various regions in the country. What has ONDCP done to encourage and enhance this program in carrying out its mission? Have any discretionary funds been awarded to this program?
9. It is our understanding that the three HIDTA's in California and the San Diego partnership of the Southwest Border HIDTA as well as the National Methamphetamine Chemical Initiative have proposed a program for federal, state and locals to share information concerning the Mexican methamphetamine traffickers and to have an ongoing exchange with U.S. DBA agents in Mexico. We also understand that there was a request for discretionary funding that was denied by ONDCP. Can you explain what ONDCP's position is on this proposal and the reason for that position?
10. Within the HIDTA program, there are a number of individuals who possess many years of experience with drug enforcement on the federal, state and local levels. These individuals interact regularly with all levels of law enforcement and local executives dealing with drug issues. The information we have received indicates that their input is not being sought out by ONDCP. What has ONDCP done to tap into this resource and utilize them for assistance in developing a national methamphetamine strategy?
11. Who helped develop and write the latest National Drug Control Strategy published by your office? Were any HIDTA directors consulted? Were their comments and suggestions included in the strategy?
12. Given the concern of law enforcement officials, state and local officials and members of Congress on the spread of methamphetamine to communities across the country,why did the strategy not provide a national plan for addressing the problem?
13. As you know, Oklahoma passed a law making pseudoephedrine a schedule V substance last year. Your office has commented that the initial results ofthis law seem to be positive in that there has been a reduction in the number of meth labs since schedule V went into effect. When can we expect your office to express a position, either for or against, the scheduling of pseudoephedrine?
14. The Administration's recommendations on Byrne/ JAG, Meth Hot Spots and HIDTA would severely prohibit state and local law enforcement from being able to respond to the threat posed by methamphetamine. Attorney General Gonzales has stated, "In terms of damage to children and to our society, meth is now the most dangerous drug in America -a problem that has surpassed marijuana." As the individual responsible for the federal drug budget and having information available to you which indicates methamphetamine use, production and trafficking is a problem that has continued to spread eastward across the United States since 1999,why have your funding recommendations not addressed this issue?
We look forward to receiving your response to these questions no later than August 19,2005. Thank you, in advance, for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Chuck Grassley, Chairman
Joseph R. Biden, Co-chair