Maria has consistently led efforts to take on the meth epidemic, which has harmed numerous Washington communities. She helped pass the bipartisan Combat Meth Act of 2005 that was signed into law in 2006, and the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act of 2008. These landmark bills increased penalties for meth dealers, made it harder for drug producers to access meth ingredients at pharmacies, and created the meth Hot Spots program to help law enforcement tackle the meth problem head-on.

“Meth is not an isolated problem and it will not disappear on its own. Washington is sixth in the country in meth production and first in the number of children found on raided sites. In 2004, authorities discovered more than 1,300 Washington state meth sites, and linked 220 Washington fatalities to the drug. These aren’t just numbers. They’re parents, children, and families.” – Senator Maria Cantwell, 3/2/06

The Meth Epidemic 

• The Toll of Meth in Washington: In 2005 the National Drug Intelligence Center found that the “production, transportation, distribution and abuse of methamphetamine are the primary drug threat to the Pacific Region.”  At the time, Washington had the highest amount of federal seizures of methamphetamine of any states in the Pacific, and Washington had higher levels of availability of the drug resulting in lower prices than any other state.
  
  Washington first responders have been forced to combat one of the most serious methamphetamine crises in the nation. Washington’s meth epidemic hit a dangerous peak in 2001, when there were 1,890 reported meth labs and dump sites in the state. This meth epidemic affected Washington families and communities, and came at a steep cost. In 2004 alone, fighting meth cost Washington state $50 million– from programs to deter meth use, treating meth addiction, and cleaning up meth labs. Meth programs have cracked down on meth trafficking—but meth demand, production and availability remains high.
  
  Read more about meth in Washington.

• Empowering the State’s Meth Task Force: Maria has fought to maintain robust support for the nationally renowned Washington State Meth Initiative, which was established in 1999 to unite all meth-fighting initiatives under one comprehensive and integrated program. Less than a decade after its inception, the Washington State Meth Initiative reduced the number of illicit meth labs and dump site discoveries by 92 percent, and drastically reduced the availability and supply of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth.
  
  The Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies have undertaken major efforts to combat meth production and use nationwide. However, the most effective approach to addressing this national problem has come through federal, state, and local partnerships.
  
  Since entering the Senate, Maria has consistently worked to support a cooperative law enforcement system that benefits from federal investment but also empowers state and local agencies to keep communities safe from meth trafficking.
  
  Maria also led Senate efforts to pass legislation that created a national Meth Prevention Week to help raise awareness of the meth epidemic nationwide.  

Passing Landmark Laws to Combat Meth

“Washington state once was a posterchild for the meth epidemic… Now the state is the poster child for the meth fight done right.” – National Meth Center

• Combat Meth Act: In 2006, Maria cosponsored and helped pass the bipartisan Combat Meth Act, which helped Washington law enforcement officials reduce meth-related crimes and keep the dangerous drug off the streets.
  
  The law increased penalties for meth users and dealers, restricted the sale of products used to produce meth, provided support to those affected by meth use, and gave new tools to law enforcement officials working to combat meth. 
  
  The Combat Meth Act and Washington state initiatives have been successful in reversing meth trends and preventing youth from becoming users. The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services released a 2010 report citing significant headway in combating meth: Between 2006 and 2008 the number of Washington high school seniors who reported having tried meth in their lifetime declined by 21 percent. Youth treatment admissions for meth also declined by nearly 73 percent from 2006 to 2009. Read the report here.
  
  Maria has also been a strong advocate for the Meth Hot Spots program, a major component of the Combat Meth Act that strengthens local law enforcement efforts to keep meth out of their communities. The Hot Spots sets up community programs to clean up meth labs and train law enforcement officials to investigate and convict meth offenders.

• Moving Meth Ingredients off the Shelves: Methamphetamines create a unique challenge for law enforcement, since the ingredients used for meth production are found in common medicines available at pharmacies. The Combat Meth Act moved the ingredients used to produce meth - including pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine - behind pharmacy counters and out of drug users’ hands.

Preventing the Production of Meth

• Alerting Law Enforcement to Meth Labs: To further strengthen law enforcement’s ability to track down meth producers, Maria cosponsored the Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act in 2008. This law created electronic logbooks that monitor people stockpiling meth ingredients. The law limits the amount of meth-ingredient medicines that one person can purchase to 9 grams per month and 3.6 grams per day. Monitoring these purchases is a crucial tool to end the production of meth and detect meth labs.
  
  After President George W. Bush signed the bill into law Maria said, “Electronic logbooks will go a long way toward stopping the criminals who pass through several stores to build up illegal stockpiles of these medicines... Our law enforcement will gain a valuable new tool to further reduce the number of meth labs in our state."

Protecting Washington’s Children

• Protecting Children from Sexual Predators: In 2006, Maria was a leader in the effort to pass the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which improved interstate tracking of sex offenders. The law helps to prevent sex offenders from moving to other states to evade tracking. It also increases penalties for violent sex crimes committed against children, and requires that sex offenders register prior to release from prison or supervised programs. Since the Adam Walsh Act’s passage, Maria has consistently voted to ensure full support for its essential child protection programs.
  
  Urging her colleagues to pass the Adam Walsh Act, Maria said, “Our communities need better information about sex offenders in our neighborhoods, which is exactly what this will do… Tougher punishments are also critical if we’re going to prevent tragic consequences.”

• Tougher Sentencing for Child Sex Offenders: Maria voted to pass the Prosecuting Remedies and Tools against the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act. The PROTECT Act strengthens sentencing guidelines for criminals convicted of sexual crimes against children, and restricts judges from departing from federal sentencing guidelines in child or sex crime cases.

Ending Hate Crimes

• Landmark Legislation to Stop Hate Crimes: Maria has consistently supported legislation to crack down on hate crimes. During the fall of 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which Maria helped pass through the Senate (P.L. 111-84). This law extended equal justice for hate crimes to victims targeted or attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
  
  “I have long felt that any crime against the GLBT community must be prevented and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This amendment will give state and local governments the support of federal authorities, and will send a message that these heinous crimes won't be tolerated." – Senator Maria Cantwell

Preventing Violence against Women

Washington law enforcement receives 30,000 domestic violence calls a year on average, and in any given day in 2011, domestic violence programs served 1,884 people in Washington state.

Maria has been a leader in protecting women from abuse, improving the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2005, and passing groundbreaking rules to stop “mail order brides” from being exploited. VAWA plays a vital role in providing law enforcement and local governments with the tools needed to protect the victims of domestic violence.

• Landmark Law to Protect Women: Maria led Congressional efforts to expand the Violence Against Women Act in 2005, and she has since fought to extend and pass critical improvements to the law. First created in 1994, this historic law set up a new framework to combat domestic violence, sexual assault, and many other forms of abuse against women.
  
  The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 significantly expanded efforts to protect women from violence. The law imposed strict penalties for interstate stalking and domestic abuse and strengthens penalties for repeat sexual offenders. It also bolstered efforts to combat rape and sexual assault, improving rape education programs and support services for children, teens and battered women.
  
  Maria said, “Domestic violence destroys families and we need to put a stop to it. This new law delivers more resources and help to the women and children who need it most."

• Protecting Thousands Of “Mail Order Brides” From Exploitation: In late 2005 Maria helped Congress pass groundbreaking regulations with greater protections for “mail order brides.” President George W. Bush signed the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act in January 2006. Part of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA), the law provides foreign fiancées with background information on their potential spouses and information on domestic violence resources to protect themselves and consider their safety when making marriage choices.
  
  Maria stated, “This law builds on past lessons, putting in place vital safeguards to protect women from abuse and exploitation. Foreign-born fiancées deserve to know about their rights here in the United States, and need information about whether their potential spouse has a history of violent crime.”

Protecting Personal Information

• Protecting Americans’ Private Information: While the United States is a leading innovator of advanced technologies, laws have to keep up with constantly changing technology to protect the privacy of all Americans.  Maria led efforts to move the nation forward and establish national standards for information-sharing that make security and privacy a top priority. In 2006, Maria cosponsored legislation that protects millions of American consumers against the black-market sale of cell phone records. The bipartisan Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act makes it illegal to obtain or attempt to obtain an individual’s phone records without his or her permission. The House version of this bill, which passed through the Senate with Maria’s support, became law in January 2007.

• Fighting Identity Theft: Maria introduced and helped to pass the bipartisan Identity Theft Victims Assistance Act through the Senate in 2003, and she worked to include and pass key provisions from her bill in the Fair Credit Report Act, which President George W. Bush signed into law in 2003.
  
  Maria’s provisions created a standardized process for people to establish themselves as victims of identity theft, and allows law enforcement to act as the victim’s agent in obtaining business records. Maria has also successfully pushed measures to investigate the link between meth crimes and other criminal activity, including identity theft. 
  
   “The Cantwell amendment will guarantee that victims won't face the catch-22 of trying to clear their names without proof of the fraudulent transactions.” – Washington Public Interest Research Group, 12/1/03