DRUG CZAR GETS EARFUL ON METH PROBLEMS

Policy - Lawmakers Say That The Nation Is Playing Catch-Up And That
Policies Are Misdirected

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has squandered its chance to
prevent a national epidemic of methamphetamine abuse and has undercut
local efforts to fight meth-related crime, members of a congressional
panel told Bush's drug czar Thursday.

"Instead of catching it at the beginning, we're now paying the price,
an ongoing price, as a government and as a people," Rep. Patrick
McHenry, R-N.C., told John Walters, head of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy.

McHenry and other members of the government reform subcommittee on
justice and drug policy sparred with Walters over priorities in
Bush's proposed $12.7 billion drug-control budget for 2007, which was
unveiled last week.

Although the proposal represents a 1 percent increase over 2006, some
programs popular with Congress were recommended for cuts. Among them
are federal assistance for local law enforcement agencies and funding
for abuse-prevention programs in schools.

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chided Walters for cutting or neglecting
assistance to local officials while also failing to develop a clear
national strategy for dealing with the spread of meth, a highly
addictive and damaging drug.

"You can't have it both ways," Souder said.

In the Senate, meanwhile, a procedural vote on Thursday cleared the
way for passage of a bill that combines an array of controls on
distribution and sales of pseudoephedrine, the essential ingredient
in meth that is commonly found in decongestants.

Among other things, the bill would require retailers to keep
regulated cold products behind the counter and enforce sales limits
to individuals. It also would give the federal government power to
track international shipments of bulk pseudoephedrine.

The procedural vote Thursday ended an impasse over an update of the
USA Patriot Act, to which the meth bill had been included late last
year. Supporters in both chambers predicted the bill would be
delivered to Bush early next month.

Back in the House, Walters spent much of the afternoon defending
Bush's budget proposal as well as his own performance as drug czar.

Given budget constraints, Walters said, his job entailed making
difficult choices in deploying federal resources.

"I think my job is not to be popular," Walters said. "My job is to
try to make the drug problem smaller."

To underscore his point, Walters showed the panel a map of the United
States color-coded to show where high proportions of workers taking
drug tests had proved positive for meth use in 2005.

While the map showed heaviest use in the West, the results were mixed
within most states, Walters noted. The map shows that while meth is a
problem in many communities, its arrival does not necessarily herald
a national trend, he said.

Souder took exception, saying the map proved his point that meth had
become a national problem. If Walters mapped drug-test results from
prior years, he likely would see the drug's movement from west to
east, Souder said.

But Walters held his ground, saying in essence that meth is a
localized problem and should be dealt with accordingly.

"By hosing water everywhere, you don't put the fire out where it's
most intense," he said.