Lou says it's UP...but..Reports say meth lab seizures, and workplace use,

[SoCalDem]

http://www.thedailyreview.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16811284&BRD=2276&PAG=461&dept_id=465049&rfi=6

Reports say meth lab seizures, and workplace use, declining

BY WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS
06/20/2006

WASHINGTON (AP) - Good news in the fight against meth abuse came on two fronts Monday, with reports showing a major drop in methamphetamine lab seizures nationwide and a similar decline in the spread of the drug into the workplace. Local law enforcement officials say there is still a strong appetite for the highly addictive drug and warned that meth makers in Mexico and other countries are moving to fill the supply void. The number of meth lab busts plummeted more that 30 percent last year as most states put in place laws to restrict the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines used to make meth, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center.

“We are seeing fewer methamphetamine arrests in Bradford County this year,” explained Bradford County District Attorney Steve Downs, who said the 30 percent drop in nationwide arrests roughly matches the local figures.


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Meth lab seizures fell from 17,562 in 2004 to 12,185 last year, with western and central western states like Oklahoma, Montana and Washington seeing some of the sharpest declines. Missouri, which leads the nation in the number of lab seizures, saw a 22 percent decline.


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A study last week by the Sentencing Project _ a nonprofit group that supports alternatives to prison terms for convicted drug users _ concluded that reports about meth use are exaggerated.. Citing figures that show less than 1 percent of the nation’s population uses meth, the group said meth abuse remains a “highly localized” problem compared with abuse of other drugs like cocaine.

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While the drug czar praised the “robust response nationwide” for the good news, some federal lawmakers said much of the credit to state and local governments working without much national direction. Rep. Mark Souder, chairman of the House drug policy subcommittee, said the administration has refused to make the fight against meth abuse a priority. He also criticized a White House budget proposal to slash federal spending for state and local law enforcement to fight meth.
snip... “We live and die by the grants, especially in the rural areas,” Boyer said. “They don’t have the resources that you would have in a major city where you have a huge tax base.”
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[BuddyYoung]

1. USE = ABUSE? Republican = Fascist? GWB = Presidential Dictator?

nt