CONGRESS SCRIMPING, BUT NOT ON METH WAR

War On Terrorism Dillutes Resources Of Federal Anti-Drug Efforts.

WASHINGTON - As Congress and the Bush administration wage a war on terror,
both are also fighting another enemy in the homeland: methamphetamine.

Despite an economic downturn and new budget demands to combat terrorism,
Congress has increased funding for state and local governments to fight the
drug. At the same time, the war on terrorism is diluting resources of
federal anti-drug efforts, raising concerns among some lawmakers.

"This drug plague has overwhelmed law enforcement resources and created a
public health concern for many neighborhoods," said Rep. Roy Blunt,
R-Strafford, of meth in his congressional district. "Because meth can be
made locally and moved easily, it has increasingly become a local
enforcement problem needing federal assistance."

Blunt is on a congressional caucus created to fight meth. Set up last
January, it has 79 members. Other Missouri lawmakers on the task force are
Republican Reps. Jo Ann Emerson, Samuel Graves and Kenny Hulshof.

Missouri ranks No. 2 among all states with 637 illegal meth labs seized by
law enforcement, trailing only California's 1,153 labs, reports the federal
El Paso Intelligence Center.

But local officials said the meth problem is much worse in a nine- county
area that includes Greene County than the federal data reflect.

Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Dan Nash, who works on the Combined Ozarks
Multi-jurisdictional Enforcement Team, or COMET, said the drug task force
spends 85 percent of its time on meth enforcement.

While the government reported 637 meth labs being seized in Missouri in the
fiscal year ending Sept. 30, Nash said the number this year as of Nov. 28
was 1,661 - a reflection of unexplained shortcomings in how state numbers
enter the federal data bank. "They are way behind what we have reported,
but that's the federal government for you," Nash added.

To help state and local police foil illicit drug production in high
trafficking areas, Congress has increased funding for community- oriented
policing services, known as COPS, by nearly 24 percent, from $48.5 million
to $60 million in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Congress also earmarked nearly $231.3 million this year for states to
combat production of drugs, including meth, up 11.7 percent from $207
million this year.

Meth is a highly addictive drug that flourishes in rural areas,
particularly in the Midwest, Southwest and West, because it is easy to make
using common equipment and ingredients.