FEDS CLUELESS ABOUT METH

Meth is a contemporary plague. Yet the Bush administration seems dazed and
confused about this reality.

The White House unveiled a federal anti-meth plan last week. Unlike Iowa
law, it wouldn't require most cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine - a
key ingredient in making meth - be sold only by pharmacies. It would allow
consumers to purchase up to 110 pills in a single purchase.

It's essentially a non-policy. Even Republican lawmakers are criticizing it.

Sen. Charles Grassley said the White House is "listening more to Wal-Mart
than to the economic and social problems" meth causes. Actually, White
House officials are probably listening to drug companies, which stand to
lose sales when drugs are difficult to purchase.

Or maybe they're not listening to anyone. Maybe they just can't get their
eyes off their old enemy: marijuana. The administration has focused on this
as a gateway drug that's widely used.

But being widely used doesn't make it the biggest problem. Ask governors,
law-enforcement officers, child-welfare workers, landlords. Meth may not be
the most common drug, but it's the biggest problem in many states. It's
deadly. It's dangerous. It's destructive.

It makes pot look harmless.