REP. CARNAHAN SAYS NEW LAW WILL AID BATTLE AGAINST METH

Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, says he is confident that recently
approved anti-methamphetamine legislation and measures still pending
will help curb the use and production of the dangerous drug.

Carnahan visited the Jefferson County sheriff's office in Hillsboro
on Thursday to talk with members of the county's drug task force and
elected officials and police officers.

Carnahan discussed federal anti-meth legislation and praised
authorities for their efforts to combat the spread of the illegal drug.

Police in Jefferson County have led Missouri in recent years in the
number of meth labs and related sites they have raided.

"You're on the front line of this crisis," said Carnahan, adding that
other law enforcement agencies and legislators are looking to
Missouri's enforcement model, as the use and manufacture of
methamphetamine spreads to other parts of the nation. "We owe a great
debt of gratitude for your work here in helping us deal with this problem."

The Methamphetamine Epidemic Elimination Act signed into law by
President George W. Bush in March as part of the reauthorization of
the U.S.A. Patriot Act, restricts the sale of over-the-counter cold
pills used in the production of meth, and requires importers and
exporters to report their shipments of such precursors to prevent
their diversion into meth labs.

Missouri and Illinois have similar state laws.

Sgt. Gary Higginbotham, commander of the Jefferson County drug task
force, says the unit saw a 23 percent decrease in meth lab seizures
last year after the restrictions were put into effect.

Carnahan said another piece of legislation, the Methamphetamine
Remediation Research Act, would direct the federal Environmental
Protection Agency to develop voluntary guidelines for disposing of
meth labs and cleaning up the hazardous materials they produce.

"One of the problems we've dealt with is how to clean up these sites,
which pose a risk to the police officers and neighboring landowners,"
Carnahan said.

The congressman made several other stops in Jefferson County on
Thursday. He visited nursing homes and health care centers, and met
with community assistance organizations and transportation activists.

In Tuesday's primary election, Carnahan faces a challenge to his
re-election bid from former educator Jim Frisella of St. Louis.