Announcing Task Force Recommendations to Crush Meth

REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
Friday, October 1, 2004

I know it will not come as a surprise to many of you when I say that Oregon has a serious Meth problem. We hear reports in the news every day about the terrible effects of this drug. Just last night, in fact, Beaverton mourned the loss of Pastor Robert Scott Mitchell, whose own son shot and killed him while he was high on Meth. This tragedy is a terrible loss for Pastor Mitchell's family and his community - and it is a clear example of the toll Meth is taking on our state.

The Meth epidemic is tearing families apart. It is threatening children's lives. It is hurting our communities. And it must be stopped. Whether they know it or not, Methamphetamine affects every citizen in Oregon. Meth use is currently a factor in over 85% of property and identity theft crimes in Oregon. It is also a major contributor to violent crimes, like the murder of Pastor Mitchell.

Unlike drugs like heroin and cocaine, Meth is a "make-it-yourself" drug that can be manufactured by amateurs using everyday ingredients found on the shelves of the local grocery store. The primary ingredient in Meth is effedrin or pseudo-effedrin, a common ingredient in Sudafed and other over-the-counter cold medicines. Detailed recipes and instructions for manufacturing Meth can be easily found on the internet with nothing more than a cursory Google search.

While producing Meth might be easy, it is also dangerous. The production of Meth creates a risk of fire and explosion. It produces lethal chemicals. And it leaves behind a mess that is incredibly difficult to clean up and get rid of. For every pound of Meth produced, between five and six pounds of toxic waste is generated. This waste gets poured into kitchen sinks, flushed down toilets and dumped in deserted fields, creating toxic dumpsites right in our neighborhoods. Because Meth production leaves behind a toxic residue, unsuspecting residents or visitors can be harmed by the chemicals from Meth production long after the cook has moved on.

Meth labs exist in Oregon homes, hotels, motels, apartments and even in automobiles. They are just as likely to be found in rural communities as they are in big cities, leading some experts to call this the first "rural drug epidemic." The drug itself is powerfully addictive. It causes damage to the brain and often permanently impacts the cognitive capacity of those who use it.

But perhaps the worst aspect of Meth is the effect it has on Oregon's children. Children who live in situations where Meth is manufactured are exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis. And the children of Meth users have no defense against parents who are alternately abusive and neglectful of their children as they live from one high to the next, one crash to the next.

In recent months alone, we have heard the story of the 9 month old who climbed out of a two story window because his parents were too strung out on a Meth crash to wake up; the baby whose parents nailed a plywood sheet over the crib to make sure the baby couldn't escape while they were on a Meth high; and the baby who died of an overdose from breastfeeding from a mother who got high on Meth.

These stories are only a small selection of the horrors facing children growing up in a house with Meth-addicted parents. In fact, Meth is the single biggest factor in that leads children in Oregon to be removed from their homes and placed in long-term foster care. When I became governor, I made a pledge that children would go to the head of the line. I promised I would make it a top priority to keep Oregon's children healthy and safe. Clearly, in order to keep children safe, we have to stop the Meth epidemic in Oregon.

We have a tough road ahead of us - and with each passing day, the problem just gets worse. The number of Meth labs in both rural and urban areas of Oregon has grown significantly over the past year. This is a problem that cannot be solved by law enforcement alone. If we are to crush Meth in Oregon, we need to lock up those who produce it - and treat those who use it. We need to prevent dealers from attracting new users, and we need to enlist the help of communities all across Oregon to make it clear that we simply do not tolerate Meth in Oregon.

In February of this year, I appointed a Public Safety Review Steering Committee to lead a complete review of the public safety system. As a piece of this effort, I appointed Salem Police Chief Walt Myers to lead a task force of experts to study the Meth problem in Oregon and come back to me with concrete recommendations for how we can crush Methamphetamine production, distribution, and use in Oregon. I have just received the task force's recommendations. Some of them will take legislative action, but some of them can be implemented immediately - and I intend to waste no time. This Meth epidemic is literally a matter of life and death for Oregonians. The Task Force has asked the Oregon Pharmacy Board to look at what other states are doing to prevent Meth cooks from getting their hands on precursor chemicals.

Today, I am going one step further. I have directed the Pharmacy Board - at their next meeting in October - to enact an emergency administrative rule that will restrict the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine consistent with what has recently been done in Oklahoma. The rule will require that pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products be sold from behind a secured counter, such as the pharmacy counter at grocery stores - which some grocery stores in Oregon are already doing voluntarily. But this rule will go a step further in requiring that people purchasing such products will have to show identification and that vendors will be required to keep a record of every purchase.

I want all retailers who are currently selling pseudoephedrine products to be able to continue to sell these products - but in a secured manner that prevents would-be Meth cooks from endangering Oregon's children. In Oklahoma, restrictions like this have resulted in up to a 70% percent reduction in Meth labs in many areas of that state. This temporary rule will be in effect for 180 days and I will make it a priority in the next legislative session to make it permanent.

I want to thank the law enforcement officials and legislators from both sides of the aisle and who already committed to working with me to make sure we enact those changes into law. This is a problem big enough that we all have to work together, regardless of party affiliation. I am convinced that the changes put in place in Oklahoma are one of the quickest and most effective ways to stop the Meth problem here in Oregon. It is not the only solution, but it is a critical piece of the broad approach developed by the task force.

I am also immediately implementing a plan to create Drug Endangered Children Teams throughout the state to make sure the children who are in Meth houses are given proper treatment and that they receive the care and support that they need to grow up healthy and happy. At my direction, my staff has already begun collaboration with the University of Oregon School of Journalism to develop a prevention strategy that will be used in schools to keep children from using Meth. They are also working with the Oregon Partnership to develop a toolkit that local groups can use in their efforts to fight Meth in their own communities.

Finally, I am working on developing a package of legislation that will both hold Meth users accountable and provide effective treatment for individuals addicted to Meth. Key task force recommendations that I hope to include in this package are:

Forming a Statewide Meth Lab Investigation and Prosecution Team, in the Office of the State Police with the cooperation of the Attorney General's Office.
Enacting a new criminal statute, making it a crime to manufacture Meth where there is evidence that a child has been living. This crime will have an increased penalty of being a Class A felony.
Prioritizing drug treatment for those Meth offenders who need it most - pregnant offenders, children, parents and others whose addiction severely impacts the lives of others or society.
Require the Oregon Trail Card be imprinted with a photo and name of the user on the card to prevent the cards from being used to subsidize Meth habits and Meth production.

This is one of the greatest public safety challenges our state has ever faced, and it is going to take all of us to crush Meth and keep Oregon children safe.

I want to thank all of the members of the Meth Task Force who have worked so hard on this issue. I am now pleased to introduce one of the key leaders in this effort and the chair of the task force - Salem Police Chief Walt Myers