FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006 WWW.USDOJ.GOV OPA (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 Methamphetamine abuse shatters families and threatens our communities. On National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, we underscore the dangers of methamphetamine and reaffirm our collective responsibility to combat all forms of drug abuse." President George W. Bush, Nov. 28, 2006 Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive drug that dramatically affects users' minds and bodies. Fighting the dangerous proliferation of methamphetamine remains a significant priority for the Bush Administration. In addition to undertaking a significant public education campaign through National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, the Department of Justice and its components have taken the following steps to fight this epidemic: Department of Justice Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales directed the U.S. Attorneys Offices to make the prosecution of methamphetamine cooks and distributorsespecially those who are repeat offendersa high priority. In response, the U.S. Attorneys are seeking stiff sentences for major players in the methamphetamine trade. During the past 10 years, the U.S. Attorneys have more than quadrupled the number of methamphetamine cases filed and defendants charged.
* The Department has provided specialized training to police officers and sheriffs deputies on how to best respond to methamphetamine-related situations. In the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years, the Department more than tripled the number of methamphetamine training courses offered nationwide.
* The Department established the Anti-Methamphetamine Coordination Committee to oversee the ongoing implementation of Department initiatives and to ensure effective coordination of its anti-methamphetamine efforts.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * The DEA administered approximately 8,600 clandestine lab clean-ups for state and local agencies in fiscal year 2005 and approximately 4,600 in fiscal year 2006.
* Between 1998 and 2006, the DEA trained 10,312 state and local law enforcement officers and has trained and/or participated in training for more than 2,400 foreign law enforcement officers in a variety of investigative, enforcement, and regulatory methods related to clandestine laboratory investigations and/or methamphetamine trafficking. Of this number, in excess of 1,500 Mexican law enforcement officials received some form of training in the past year.
* In fiscal year 2006, the DEA made 6,233 methamphetamine-related arrests and seized 1,550 kilograms of the drug.
* In fiscal year 2005, the DEA estimated that it committed approximately $176 million to combating methamphetamine, through operations, methamphetamine lab dismantling and removal, and regulatory control of precursor chemicals.
* Since March 2005, the DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams (MET) have made methamphetamine investigations a priority. In fiscal year 2005, 41 percent of new MET deployments targeted methamphetamine trafficking organizations. The DEA provides assistance through the MET program to state and local law enforcement in major drug investigations.
* The DEA established a Methamphetamine Task Force that is responsible for gathering information from relevant sources, analyzing it, and making recommendations for improving and targeting the federal governments policies with respect to the production and trafficking of methamphetamine.
* The DEAs Demand Reduction program enhances prevention programs across the nation by developing strategic alliances with prevention and treatment agencies, community coalitions, and state and local governments.
** The DEAs teen Web site, www.justthinktwice.com, has a link called Got Meth? dedicated to methamphetamine issues. Since its launch, the Web site has attracted more than 1.5 million visitors.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * The OCDETF program works to dismantle the most significant drug trafficking organizations. Between fiscal years 2003 and 2005, the number of OCDETF investigations involving methamphetamine increased by 59 percent.
** In fiscal year 2005, OCDETF cases resulted in 725 indictments charging 2,224 defendants with methamphetamine violations. In all, 137 organizations were dismantled and the activities of 80 organizations disrupted.
* The fiscal year 2006, the OCDETF Consolidated Priority Organizational Target (CPOT) list has identified eight of the 46 designated organizations as being engaged in methamphetamine trafficking.
** At the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2006, the DEA had 166 active Priority Target Organization (PTO) investigations linked to those eight CPOTs, of which 33 were active PTO investigations with methamphetamine as the primary narcotic.
** Since the inception of the PTO program in 2001, the DEA has disrupted and dismantled more than 481 PTOs where methamphetamine was the primary narcotic involved.
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * The BOP provides appropriate substance abuse treatment to all eligible inmates, including those diagnosed with methamphetamine abuse or dependence. Such treatment has been proven to reduce recidivism and relapse in participants.
** In fiscal year 2005, 22,776 inmates participated in some form of drug abuse education; 18,027 male and female inmates participated in BOPs residential drug abuse treatment programs.
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * Since 1999, OJP has awarded more than $45 million in methamphetamine-related grants.
* OJP has sponsored 11 methamphetamine-related conferences attended by more than 2,400 people and has sponsored 20 meetings, training sessions and presentations on methamphetamine, victims of methamphetamine abuse, and drug endangered children.
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * In addition to maintaining www.methresources.gov , an online clearing house of methamphetamine-related events and information, BJA sponsors numerous methamphetamine-specific grant programs, including: methamphetamine response training for tribal law enforcement, Indian alcohol and substance abuse demand reduction programs, a pilot re-entry program for methamphetamine addicted offenders, residential substance abuse treatment programs for state correctional and detention facilities, and community, law enforcement, and youth organization partnerships at the local level.
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * COPS supports state, local and tribal law enforcement and their fight against methamphetamine through grants, training, conferences, technical assistance, dissemination of best practices, publications and evaluations.
** Since 1998, COPS has invested more than $448 million nationwide to combat the spread of methamphetamine.
** Currently, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is devoting two COPS grants ($2 million in fiscal year 2005 and $3 million in fiscal year 2006) to funding methamphetamine public awareness and prevention campaigns.
International Efforts to Combat Methamphetamines * In order to address the methamphetamine coming across our border, the administration is continuing its cooperation with Mexican law enforcement authorities to halt the spread of methamphetamine by disrupting and dismantling methamphetamine trafficking organizations.
* In May 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, joined by the Mexican Attorney General, unveiled Department of Justice-led initiatives aimed at improving enforcement, increasing law enforcement training, improving information sharing, and increasing public awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine.
* The DEA and the government of Mexico have pledged to establish specialized methamphetamine enforcement teams on their respective sides of the border. In Mexico, these teams will focus on investigating and targeting the most wanted Mexican methamphetamine drug trafficking organizations, while DEA-led efforts on the U.S. side will focus on methamphetamine traffickers and organizations transporting and distributing the drug.
* A new joint initiative between the DEA and Department of Homeland Securitys Customs and Border Protection Service is focusing on ports of entry within the United States, targeting suspicious cargo that is likely to be related to methamphetamine trafficking organizations.
* A bilateral leadership planning conference took place this fall in Mexico aimed at reducing methamphetamine production and demand and at improving targeting efforts.
* In addition, the DEA, State Department, and other government agencies have led training programs on methamphetamine and interdiction methods for Mexican police officials in locations throughout the United States, Mexico and Central America. By the end of this year, 1,000 officers will be trained.
* The government of Mexico has placed stricter regulatory controls on pseudoephedrine and placed import quotas on the methamphetamine precursor chemicals that are tied to the countrys legitimate needs.
* In March 2006, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) adopted the synthetic drug precursor resolution proposed by the United States and cosponsored by a number of CND member nations. The resolution urges countries to report shipments of bulk chemicals and pharmaceutical preparations to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for further review. This resolution will be extremely helpful to law enforcement because pharmaceutical preparations such as tablets containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine had previously been excluded from such reporting. The INCB is also now authorized to share shipment information on pharmaceutical preparations containing methamphetamine precursors with law enforcement and regulatory authorities to prevent or interdict diverted shipments. 06-800
Source: US Department of Justice
