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November 30, 2006

R.I. working to prevent methamphetamine use

State law enforcement officials and drug treatment professionals today, on National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, say they are taking steps to prevent methamphetamine use in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch says he will, for the second year, submit a bill to the General Assembly that would increase penalties for the manufacture and possession of methamphetamine.

Lynch is also joining with U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente; the Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals; the Rhode Island Department of Health, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in forming a Methamphetamine Working Group.

A news conference has been scheduled for 10 a.m. in Cranston to announce the working group.

"Although Rhode Island has been spared, to date, from the proliferation of
methamphetamine manufacturing and abuse that has wreaked devastation and spiked crime in many sections of our country, we must, and do, recognize the presence of meth in our state," Lynch said in a statement. "It's incumbent on us to address and attack the manufacturing and use of this highly addictive drug on many fronts -- through education, law enforcement, and our judicial system."

National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a coordinated effort to reach potential meth users with a message of prevention and to educate users about the programs available to them, according to the attorney general's office.

Lynch's office cites several statistics to demonstrate the prevalence of methamphetamine use and the problems it causes: In 2004, there were more than 600,000 methamphetamine users nationwide. According to the National Study on Drug Use and Health more than 12 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried the drug. In a 2005 survey conducted by the National Association of Counties, 47 percent of hospitals stated that methamphetamine caused more emergency room visits than any other drug.

Lynch says Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma and other states have seen a sharp decrease in methamphetamine production since enacting tougher legislation.

"Meth, like other illegal drugs, is a systemic problem that takes a terrible toll on our young people and our families, tearing at the fabric of our society, causing damage, pain, and heartbreak, and putting a severe and costly strain on our institutions," Lynch said. "We have to be more proactive in confronting meth on many levels, with legislation to stiffen penalties foremost among them."

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:50 AM | Permalink

Comments

Like any drug, the problem is basic economics; demand exceeds supply. As long as undereducated and ill-trained lawyers like Lynch are attempting to tackle the manufacturing and distributuion of the drug (the supply-side), we will continue to see the problem escalate until it reaches its natural endemic peak. Only demand-side policies, like better education, better treatmentment programs, and decriminialization of use, will cure this problem. But as long as lawyers, not economists, make the laws, we will never rid ourselves of these problems.

T | November 30, 2006 9:30 AM link

November 30, 2006

R.I. working to prevent methamphetamine use

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