Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S. 1784

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. KOHL, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. KYL, and Mr. HARKIN):

S. 1784. A bill to eliminate the safe-harbor exception for certain packaged pseudoephedrine products used in the manufacture of methamphetamine; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator FEINSTEIN as a cosponsor of the Methamphetamine Blister Pack Loophool Elimination Act of 2003. This legislation will make it harder for meth cooks to get an essential ingredient needed to manufacture methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a dangerous narcotic and is a serious challenge facing our country. The manufacture, distribution, and use of methamphetamine has a lasting and devastating personal effect on our Nation's families, communities, and our environment.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain by releasing high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Some of the short-term effects of using methamphetamine include: an accelerated heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, irritability, extreme nervousness, confusion, insomnia, aggression, tremors, convulsions, and hyperthermia, which can potentially result in death.

In addition to the effects on the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system, the prolonged use of methamphetamine also has many psychological effects. Some of the symptoms resemble those of schizophrenia and are characterized by anger, panic, paranoia, auditory and visual hallucinations, and repetitive behavior patterns.

Other long-term effects can result in kidney and lung disorders, brain damage, liver damage, blood clots, a deficient immune system and chronic depression.

The threat of methamphetamine is different than that of most other illegal drugs as it can be easily manufactured from readily available chemicals and substances. The relative ease of manufacturing and its highly addictive potential has caused methamphetamine use to drastically increase throughout the nation. According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health 5.3 percent of the U.S. population—over 12 million people—reported trying methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime.

This is an alarming figure. Given the serious ramifications surrounding the use of methamphetamine, we need to be vigilant, making sure that we are doing all that we can to curb this dangerous statistic.

This bill makes specific clarifications to the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Act of 1996. While current law establishes a retail sales limit of 9 grams for most pseudoephedrine products, which is one of the basic precursor chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, there is no such limit on the sale of "blister-packed" pseudoephedrine products.

The bill we are introducing today follows the recommendation of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that retail distribution of pseudoephedrine tablets in blister packages should not be exempt from the 9-gram retail sales limit. This will make it more difficult for methamphetamine producers to obtain large quantities of the precursor chemical pseudoephedrine.

As Senator FEINSTEIN well knows, the two largest means of acquiring precursor chemicals for methamphetamine in California are by mail order and retail sales. This acquisition is made easier because the meth cooks are able to exploit the blister pack exemption provision in the current law. Removing this exemption will not halt meth production but it will make it more difficult for meth cooks to collect the key ingredients they need.

This is not the only answer to this problem, but it is an important step. Law enforcement cannot fix the problem alone. Schools can't do it alone. The Federal Government can't do it alone. It is important that we each unite and lead local anti-drug initiatives in our respective neighborhoods and communities. I encourage my colleagues to join us in supporting these important reforms. We cannot let this attack on our Nation's citizens go unchecked.