SENATE BILL TARGETS METHAMPHETAMINE PROBLEM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sen. Jim Talent has introduced legislation aimed
at snuffing the spread of methamphetamines by more harshly punishing
distributors and enhancing treatment for addicts, he announced Wednesday.

The Republican senator's "Combat Meth Act" would sink $47 million in
first-year funding of a plan to better train police, shift meth lab
operators and traffickers into the federal court system, and track
sales of legal substances used to create methamphetamines.

"In the 20 years that I have been involved in public life, this drug
- -- methamphetamine -- is the worst drug I have seen," Talent said.
"This is a drug that's not only sold in our neighborhoods and used in
our neighborhoods, but also made in our neighborhoods."

Missouri shut down 2,860 meth labs last year, more than any other
state, and a figure authorities expect to increase this year.

Talent's plan, co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.,
would earmark the bulk of its funding, $30 million, to expand training
of police investigating meth offenders. It would train local
prosecutors to seek tougher penalties for meth cooks and traffickers
by shifting their cases to federal courts. And it would provide grant
money for programs supporting children affected by meth.

The bill also seeks to improve treatment options, though Talent said
the components of that had not yet been finalized.

"We don't really have a treatment method in which we have confidence,"
he said.

Talent's proposal comes after the meth issue emerged this week in the
presidential race. Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential
nominee, outlined on Monday his ticket's plan to restrict sales of
cold medicines with pseudoephedrine, used to make meth, as well as
funding to help farmers better secure ammonia tanks, also used to make
meth.

"Methamphetamine has become a cancer on rural areas and small towns in
this country," Edwards said in a teleconference.

The battle against the highly addictive drug has become a campaign
issue around the country, especially in states such as Missouri, where
meth is prevalent. Both candidates for governor here have made
battling meth -- which can be smoked, snorted or injected -- part of
their platforms.

"Having a high-profile person of any type address the issue gives it
some credence," said David Webber, a political science professor at
the University of Missouri-Columbia, referring to Edwards. "The three
continuing themes of campaigns are economics, education and crime, and
this could fall under crime."

Talent is not up for re-election this year and says addressing the
meth problem requires a bipartisan approach.

"Methamphetamine has not been a partisan thing and should not be a
partisan thing," he said. "This is something that threatens
everybody."