Methamphetamine:
Federal
Bill
Passes
as
Part
of
USA
Patriot
Act
3/10/06
The USA Patriot Act is ostensibly designed to protect Americans from the foreign terrorist threat, but its most immediate impact will be to protect Americans from Sudafed. When Congress approved the Patriot Act this week, it also approved an anti-methamphetamine bill that Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), head of the House Judiciary Committee, attached to it in hopes of swift passage. The meth portion of the Patriot Act will impose nationwide restrictions on the sale of cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in popular home cooking meth recipes.
Starting 30 days after President Bush signs the law into effect, people seeking relief for runny noses will have to produce identification and sign a register to purchase products containing pseudoephedrine. They will also face limits on the number of pills they can buy. Purchasers will be restricted to 300 30-milligram pills in a month or 120 in a single day. There is an exception for "single use" packages. Such products must be stored out of the reach of customers. Restrictions on access to cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine has been a popular response to meth cooking in the states. States such as Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Oregon have reported significant decreases in meth labs after passing such legislation. But home-cooked meth accounts for only a small fraction -- perhaps 20% -- of all methamphetamine, and the same states reporting reduced meth lab busts are also reporting increases in purer, higher quality methamphetamine, usually imported from Mexico. Perhaps the meth bill could more aptly be called the "Mexican Methamphetamine Market Share Enhancement Act." But wait, there's more. The bill authorizes $585 million for law enforcement, training, and research on treatment, and it includes provisions that will make more offenders eligible for stiffer sentences as "kingpins." It also includes a provision that creates a new penalty of up to 20 years in prison for people who sell or cook meth in a home where a child lives -- even if the child is not present. The Drug Policy Alliance's national affairs director, Bill Piper, told DRCNet in December the foreseeable result of the "save the children" provision will be the mass incarceration of meth-addicted parents. "Basically, if you have a kid and commit a meth offense you can get up to 20 years, and that's on top of the underlying offense," said Piper. "Most people who make meth in their homes or who are low-level sellers are meth addicts. Mothers are going to get long prison sentences and have their children put in foster care when treatment would be the appropriate response. At least it's not a mandatory minimum."
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