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| New Mexico Battles Meth Abuse |
April 24, 2000 |
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Wilson (R-NM) and Pease (R-IN) hear from
New Mexicans on Methamphetamine
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — “Meth is a cancer that is eating away at our families and communities,” said Congresswoman Heather Wilson during a congressional forum today to discuss a drug known as “poor man’s cocaine. “And it’s a lucrative business. With $1,000 worth of chemicals and easily-purchased equipment, a weekend chemist can make a pound of crank worth more than $10,000. But the cost we pay in broken families and torn communities is one New Mexico can’t afford.”
Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Congressman Ed Pease (R-IN), a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, heard today from an array of witnesses on the challenges New Mexico faces in battling Methamphetamine. The Subcommittee on Crime agreed to a forum in New Mexico after law enforcement officials spoke to Wilson of their concerns with the growing Methamphetamine problem in this state.
Some local crime-fighters say this problem has the potential to become an epidemic if not quickly addressed. States throughout the country, including New Mexico, have seen an upsurge of methamphetamine trafficking and abuse throughout the last five years. Wilson first met with law enforcement on this topic in early 1999, then again this year after the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) ran out of funds for meth lab cleanup.
“Chief Galvin, Sheriff Bowdich, and Sheriff Golden from Torrance County have each told me of their concerns with increased methamphetamine activity in the areas they are sworn to protect. Labs are dangerous not only to those who respond to them, but to people who may unknowingly be within yards of a dangerous and volatile kitchen-sink laboratory. I want to make certain that law enforcement officials have the resources they need to do their job effectively and safely,” said the Albuquerque lawmaker.
Last year, Wilson secured a $750,000 appropriation for Fiscal Year 2000 through the Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations Bill to combat methamphetamines in New Mexico. The Albuquerque Police Department will receive the funding, administered by the Department of Justice, in mid-summer. On March 30, 2000 Wilson voted for an emergency appropriations bill that included $15 million to allow the DEA to help clean up meth labs confiscated by local law enforcement agencies. She also wrote to Attorney General Reno and the Office of Management and Budget urging them to address the funding problem with a transfer of existing DOJ money.
Wilson and Pease heard today from a number of witnesses, including the mother of a former meth addict, a woman whose Albuquerque home was destroyed by a meth lab explosion, law enforcement officials, drug treatment counselors, and the Special Commissioner for Domestic Violence with the State District Court.
Communities throughout the country are experiencing challenges with Methamphetamine, including a proliferation of clandestine laboratories that can be toxic and dangerous to the community. While New Mexico’s Methamphetamine challenges have not yet grown to the proportions seen in California, Arizona, and other states with severe drug problems, law enforcement officials report a marked increase in meth activity in this state and are concerned.
In 1997, the Albuquerque Police Department seized 13 pounds of Methamphetamine in the entire year. Just this last Thursday, three years later, State Police seized almost 16 pounds in a single bust near Grants, New Mexico. In 1995, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency seized 9 illegal Methamphetamine producing laboratories. In 1999, they seized close to sixty of these dangerous, volatile, explosive drug factories—a four-year-increase of 600%.
The DEA presented mock Methamphetamine laboratories at the forum, illustrating how easy it is to construct a kitchen-sink laboratory with materials commonly available at stores that sell household goods.
Meth, known as speed, crank, or ice, is referred to as the “poor man’s cocaine.” In New Mexico, it is readily available and is the drug of choice, second only to marijuana. It has a physiological effect on the user similar to cocaine, and lasts longer. It acts as a stimulant that can keep users awake for as much as two days, increasing their heart rate and leading to anger, violence, and hallucinations.
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