CONTINUE TO WAGE WAR AGAINST METH

When Rep. Brian Baird first went to Congress and started pushing for
money and programs to fight methamphetamine addiction, his
legislative colleagues looked at him askance and asked, "What's meth?"

Today, as a leader of Congress' 100-member meth caucus, when the
Olympia congressman approaches his colleagues for help sponsoring an
amendment, they say, "If it's meth, I'm on it."

The turnaround, unfortunately, signals the spread of meth addiction
across the country and the mounting effort to curb the spread of meth
addiction.

The public should support every effort to limit the availability of
meth and ensure that those addicted to its lure have access to
treatment programs.

Congress and state lawmakers are scrambling to curb the supply of
meth-making drugs, increase funding for treatment providers and give
law enforcement officers the tools they need to root out meth labs
and send the manufacturers to jail.

Again, those efforts merit public support.

The scourge of addiction

As a clinical psychologist, Baird saw a lot of individuals addicted
to meth -- a stimulant cooked from various chemicals. The chemicals
are corrosive, carcinogenic and flammable, and they produce toxic gases.

"Most of them say the same thing, that from their very first hit
their life changed and it's been a downhill slide ever sense," Baird said.

While Baird has been focusing on meth for five years, the so-called
"tipping point" in Congress came this summer during debate on an
appropriations bill.

Baird successfully attached an amendment to the bill to add $20
million to combat meth nationally.

When congressional leaders saw the strength of the bipartisan vote on
Baird's amendment, they added another $34 million.

"People finally get it," Baird said.

He expects a vote -- perhaps as early as this week -- on a bill that
determines how much of Sudafed and other drugs used to manufacture
meth can be sold over the counter. The bill also will track shipments
of precursor drugs coming to the United States from Mexico, India,
China and other countries.

Baird said the number of local meth lab busts are down but the rate
of usage, the number of people seeking treatment and the amount of
meth-related crime have stayed constant. That means the drug cartels
in Mexico and elsewhere are having more success getting their illegal
drugs into the hands of U.S. users, he said. Thus the international
effort to bust "super labs" and drug shipments.

Statewide efforts

On the local front, the state Legislature earlier this year passed a
bill making it more difficult for consumers to get Sudafed and other
ingredients used to manufacture meth.

Attorney General Rob McKenna said the state can and must do more.
Earlier this year, he appointed a 28-member statewide meth task force
that recently returned with a series of recommendations:

Create a crime, separate from manufacturing, for possession of large
quantities of precursor chemicals used in the manufacturing process.

Seek parity between meth penalty laws in Washington and those in
neighboring Oregon and Idaho so that meth traffickers and cooks
aren't moving back and forth across state lines to avoid stricter sanctions.

Reduce the time off for good behavior for methamphetamine offenders
from 50 percent to 33 percent.

Support adults who are victims of drug manufacturing in their homes,
especially elderly adults who are innocent victims.

Push for secure funding for state and local health departments to
ensure meth labs are cleaned up.

"This is not a quick fix," McKenna said. "These are longer-term
approaches. This problem didn't pop up overnight, so it's going to
require a sustained effort to beat it."

Clearly, elected officials in Washington state "get it."

They understand the dangers of methamphetamine and are working
diligently to reduce the supply of the highly addictive drug.

The public must support their efforts.