Herb Kohl: “I rise in support of the CLEAN-UP Meth Act of 2002. Methamphetamine is a plague in Wisconsin that affects not only the…”

“I rise in support of the CLEAN-UP Meth Act of 2002. Methamphetamine is a plague in Wisconsin that affects not only the people who purchase and use it, their families and friends, but also the law enforcement officials who are involved in cleaning up the abandoned meth laboratories. These home grown meth labs inflict significant damage to the environment unlike other illicit drugs. The labs contaminate the environment and threaten those who discover and break down the labs, are exposed to the precursor chemicals and clean up the polluted environment. The meth scourge is growing every day. In 1998, Wisconsin State authorities seized only two methamphetamine labs. By 2001, that number had increased to 52 and shows no signs of abating. Its appearance in the last few years in the western part of Wisconsin, trafficked from Minnesota and Iowa, has created a dramatic new problem for law enforcement. And, production in the State has grown dramatically in the last four years. The amount of methamphetamine produced in Wisconsin is also growing by leaps and bounds. In 1999, State drug task forces seized 1.6 kilograms of methamphetamine. In 2000, the number increased to 2.5 kilograms. Finally, in 2001, the amount of methamphetamine seized in Wisconsin skyrocketed to 20.9 kilograms, an increase of 13 fold in only two years.”