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CONGRESS WILL NOT PREEMPT STATE
MEASURES
IN FEDERAL METHAMPHETAMINE LEGISLATION
Wyden, Smith supported changes to Combat
Meth Act
to protect tougher state laws on drug precursors
July 28, 2005
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) today announced that
the Combat Meth Act approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee
today will not preempt tougher state laws restricting access to
cold medicines containing methamphetamine precursors. The preemption
provision, opposed by both senators, was removed from the bill
prior to committee approval.
“Federal legislation is desperately
needed to confront the country’s growing methamphetamine
crisis, but it should not restrict Oregon’s ability to protect
the health and safety of their citizens as we see fit,”
said Wyden. “Now the Combat Meth Act provides a proper baseline
for aggressive anti-meth efforts nationwide.”
“It’s critical that
we work hand-in-hand with state and local law enforcement,”
Smith said. “They are on the front lines of the battle against
meth, and I want to give them the tools to get the job done.”
Methamphetamine is one of the most
deadly, fiercely addictive and rapidly spreading drugs in the
United States. During the past decade, while law enforcement officers
continue to close record numbers of clandestine labs, methamphetamine
use in communities has increased by as much as 300 percent. The
Combat Meth Act would make critical funding available to states,
including Oregon, for equipment, training for law enforcement
agents and prosecutors to bring legal action against meth offenders
and clean-up meth labs. It also would provide treatment grants
for those affected by this dangerous drug.
Wyden and Smith joined U.S. Senators
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.) earlier this
year in sponsoring the Combat Meth Act, which not only restricts
access to cold medicine containing methamphetamine precursors
but also provides resources and tools to help law enforcement
officials and prosecutors to pursue and punish producers and distributors
of meth, seeks to increase community awareness of the meth problem,
and establishes new treatment options.
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