DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG POLICY PRAISES OREGON EFFORTS

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon has set a national example in controlling
methamphetamine, the official in charge of U.S. drug policy said Thursday.

John Walters, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, was in Portland to meet with local officials and community
members involved in the fight against methamphetamine. He called
Oregon's efforts -- ranging from aggressive crackdowns on meth labs
to political support -- a model.

"We are winning," Walters said. "No one is taking a victory lap yet.
We need to follow through."

Under rules effective July 1, Oregon requires a prescription to buy
cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a chemical used in
producing methamphetamine. Legislative analysts said Oregon is the
only state with that requirement. Police officials credit earlier
controls with reducing the number of home meth labs in the state.

Some figures show a decreased problem with meth in the state. In
workplace testing, results showing the presence of amphetamines,
including meth, hit a five year-low in Oregon this year, according to
information released this week from testing services company Quest
Diagnostics. And, the number of meth lab seizures decreased nearly 50
percent in Oregon in the past year, according to Walter's office.

But the problem remains pressing, Walters and other drug control
officials said.

A recent national survey by the National Association of Counties
found that more than half of law enforcement officials still consider
meth their primary drug problem.

Walters said the U.S. is working with a number of other countries,
including Mexico, on improving controls on the trafficking in meth
and supplies for its creation.

"There are more lives to save here that require our attention," Walters said.

Walters planned a meeting later Thursday with community members in
Southeast Portland, where local groups have plans to make a community
center out of a former drive-through coffee stand that federal
officials said was used to sell cold medicine for meth production.