New Schumer report shows that easy-to-make drug is sweeping New York with 156 in Southern Tier seeking treatment for crystal meth abuse last year – 12 in Tompkins County alone

Schumer: We must nip problem in bud & prevent repeat of 1980s mistakes that missed early warning signs of crack epidemic; 3-point plan includes anti-meth ad campaign, more money for local law enforcement to shut down meth labs, more money for prevention & treatment

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today released new statistics and warning signs cautioning that crystal meth could become a serious problem in the Ithaca area and the Southern Tier – and unveiled a new plan to nip the problem in the bud and prevent a repeat of 1980s-era mistakes that missed the early warning signs of the crack epidemic.

"It's 1984 all over again," Schumer said, noting that was the year just before the crack epidemic exploded. "Twenty years ago, crack was headed east across the United States like a Mack Truck out of control, and it slammed New York hard because we just didn't see the warning signs. Well, the headlights are glaring bright off in the distance again, this time with meth taking root in communities like Ithaca. We are still paying the price of missing the warning signs back then, and if we don't remember our history we will be doomed to repeat it, because crystal meth could become the crack of the 21st century."

The drug methamphetamine is a highly addictive and easy-to-obtain synthetic central nervous system stimulant that is currently classified as a Schedule II controlled substance. It is widely abused throughout the United States and is distributed under many street names, including "crystal meth", "crank", "meth", "crystal", "tina", "crissy" and "speed." It is commonly sold in white powder form that dissolves in water, but has been distributed in colorful tablets or as crystals and sold as "glass" or "ice." Methamphetamine can be smoked, snorted, injected or taken orally or anally. Meth is psychologically addictive, and users become paranoid and unpredictable. Meth causes extreme fatigue in the long term, loss of appetite, psychotic behavior and brain damage similar to Alzheimer's disease.

Meth has plagued the West Coast and rural America for more than a decade, but only recently began making mainstream headway in New York. In the past year, the DEA has seen meth seizures surge by 31% across the state. According to the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, in 2003, 1152 addicts sought treatment for meth abuse in New York State, up 24% from 928 in 2002 and 59% from 723 in 2001. Last year 12 residents in Tompkins County and 48 in Tioga County were admitted to treatment centers for crystal meth problems. And 72 meth lab seizures have taken place in the Southern Tier since 1999, including 4 in Tompkins County and 23 in neighboring Tioga County – the highest number in all of upstate New York.

Schumer said that the proliferation of methamphetamine use in New York is due to a surge in the number of so-called "mom-and pop" labs where large quantities of methamphetamine are produced throughout the State, mostly in suburban and rural communities. Law enforcement officials have identified several of these labs in the Southern Tier in the last five years, part of a growing trend in which the number of meth labs in the State has been almost doubling on a yearly basis.
• Between 1989-1998, there were less than five methamphetamine labs reported in New York State.
• In 1999, only 2 methamphetamine labs were reported in New York State.
• In 2000, 8 methamphetamine labs were reported in New York State.
• In 2001, 19 methamphetamine labs were reported in New York State.
• In 2002, 45 methamphetamine labs were reported in New York State.
• In 2003,73 methamphetamine labs were reported in New York State.

Schumer staff found that an Internet search for "how to make crystal meth" returned 55,200 hits. Meth can be manufactured using common and inexpensive household products including camp fuel, iodine, drain cleaner and similar products. Approximately $100 in materials can be combined to produce $1,000 worth of methamphetamine.

To get ahead of the curve and apply the lessons learned when New York did not do enough to prevent the crack epidemic 20 years ago, Schumer today outlined a comprehensive plan to fight meth. Schumer's plan will:

• LAUNCH A NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN AGAINST METH ABUSE: Schumer today called on the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to launch a national television ad campaign to warn parents, children and communities about the dangers of methamphetamine abuse. Schumer said that the ONDCP should model the anti-meth ad campaign after its current anti-marijuana campaign, which the White House maintains has reduced marijuana use by 11%.

• PROVIDE $30 MILLION DOLLARS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT: Schumer’s plan would create new Crystal Meth Police Grants under the COPS Program which would provide 3 year grants to state and local law enforcement agencies with significant crystal meth problems from the Department of Justice to hire police officers who would form Crystal Meth Units and concentrate on eradicating meth abuse in their communities. The COPS grant program, which now provides similar grants to communities for school and security policing among other community policing needs, has enabled New York communities to hire more than 3,000 cops and Schumer’s plan would allow local law enforcement agencies to apply for these grants to help them attack their meth abuse problems.

• INCREASE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR METH TREATMENT AND PREVENTION: Schumer wrote a letter urging the Senate Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee to substantially increase funding to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at HHS for treatment and prevention activities surrounding the use of crystal meth. Schumer's plan would include increases to three SAMHSA programs -- SAMHSA block grants to states and two programs through which public and non-profit entities can apply for competitive grants. Specifically, Schumer's urged a $125M increase (from $1.779B to $1.904B) in the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant; a $50M increase (from $198M to $248M) for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; and a $125M increase (from $419M to $544M) for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. At the federal level, SAMHSA funding is not specific to abuse of any given drug. However, Schumer's plan would direct SAMSHA to focus on the emerging meth problem in their competitive grant selection process. The Senate is expected to consider the Labor-HHS appropriations legislation, which funds SAMHSA, later in the year.

In May, Schumer introduced a bill in Congress that would make the penalties for selling meth the same as for selling crack cocaine. The bill will make the threshold amounts of meth which trigger tough federal penalties the same as those for crack cocaine. Under the Schumer bill, all meth and crack cocaine dealers will be treated the same regardless of the purity of the drug. Currently, a dealer who sells 50 or more grams of any substance containing a detectable amount of crack now faces a 10 years in jail to life. Someone who sells 5 grams faces a 5 years to 40 years and someone who sells less than 5 grams can face up to 20 years in jail. Schumer's bill matches it for meth.

Schumer is also cosponsoring a bipartisan proposal, the Methamphetamine Blister Pack Loophole Elimination Act, to close a major loophole that aids meth production. Under current federal law, it is illegal to sell more than 9 grams of any bottled pseudoephedrine product, including cold medicine, at one time – far more than would ever be needed for a bad case of the flu. But current law places no limit on the amount of loose pseudoephedrine tablets which can be individually wrapped in large packages known as "blister packs." As a result, meth manufacturers can buy hundreds of cold medicine pills and combine them with other commonly available ingredients to make meth. This bill simply applies the existing 9 gram limit that is already on bottle pseudoephedrine tablets to blister packs as well.

Schumer said that his plan helps communities, law enforcement and prosecutors to fight and treat methamphetamine abuse. "Crystal meth is becoming the new crack - its spreading into the Ithaca area and we have to provide local law enforcement, parents and community members with the tools to fight back. We need to close the loophole that helps make making crystal meth even easier than making crack, and we need federal funds for prevention, treatment, and care," Schumer said.
Schumer was joined by Tompkins County Sheriff Peter Meskill.