Methamphetamine Watch: The U.S. Multilateral Conference Against Methamphetamine
From the Unnecessary Epidemic, The Oregonian
Tomorrow the United States Attorney General and United States Drug Czar will be hosting an important anti-meth conference in America’s heartland.
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and John Walters, the U.S. Drug Czar, will host high-ranking officials from the world’s largest producing and some of the principal consuming nations of methamphetamine and meth precursor chemicals in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, May 7. For the first time, leaders from Mexico, Canada, China, India, and Germany will join federal, state, and local law enforcement professionals from throughout the United States to participate in the National Methamphetamine Chemicals Initiative (NMCI) conference, an initiative of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Significant progress has been made against domestic methamphetamine production, trafficking and use over the last several years. Recent changes in the price and purity of meth indicate significant disruptions in the market for the drug. From January to December of 2007, the price per pure gram of meth increased 84 percent, from $152.39 to $280.06, while purity during the same time period decreased 26 percent. Results from workplace drug screenings conducted in 2007 show a more than 50 percent decline in the number of people testing positive for methamphetamine over the past two years.
But major challenges remain, particularly in the international arena. Many nations lack significant controls to prevent chemical diversion and have yet to comply with their international obligations, although progress has been made in some others. Mexico, for example, has banned all imports of methamphetamine precursors. Attorney General Mukasey and the representatives from Mexico, China, Canada and Germany will sign a Joint Statement on Countering the Diversion of Precursor Chemicals, Synthetic Drugs, and Controlled Pharmaceuticals, calling on all nations to take needed steps to combat this problem and to intensify international cooperation against methamphetamine.
The United States must make it clear to our allies that either they get a hold on the export of their methamphetamine precursor chemicals or we will interdict their exports and/or sanction their chemical trading with the United States.
To be blunt – it is time for Mexico and other countries to get their act together or the United States will do if for them.
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