Thomas Mott Osborne: “methamphetamine abuse has become the Nation's leading drug problem, according to a survey of 500 sheriff's departments…”

“methamphetamine abuse has become the Nation's leading drug problem, according to a survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 States. Meth is cheap to buy, it is easy to make, it is available everywhere, it is highly addictive, and often causes addiction after just one use. It is sweeping across the Nation replacing cocaine and heroin as the drug of choice for so many people. This is where we were in 1990 in terms of drug labs, and this is where we are currently in this country in 2004, where at least 20 or more clandestine drug labs have been shown in those counties. But, of course, those small drug labs are not the main problem, it is mostly drugs coming out of Mexico through the superlabs, which have been replacing cocaine and heroin. This drug has led to an increase in crime, child abuse, and prison and jail populations are soaring. Sixty to 85 percent of the meth used in this country comes from the superlabs in Mexico. Pseudoephedrine or ephedrine is the one ingredient necessary for the manufacture of meth. It is manufactured, as said earlier, in six or seven locations around the world. The Kennedy-Hooley-Osborne-Souder amendment attempts to keep pseudoephedrine from meth manufacturers. It identifies and publicizes the five export countries and the five import countries which have the highest rate of diversion of pseudoephedrine to manufacturers of methamphetamine. The Department of State could then use its existing authority to reduce or eliminate U.S.…”