Gordon Introduces Bill To Combat Meth Abuse

Gordon Introduces Bill To Combat Meth Abuse

Furthering his efforts to fight methamphetamine abuse in Tennessee, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon has introduced legislation to help communities clean meth lab sites.

Gordon's bill, H.R. 365, would charge the Environmental Protection Agency with developing health-based guidelines to assist state and local authorities with cleaning up former meth lab sites.

"The highly volatile chemicals used to make meth are extremely dangerous," said Gordon, dean of Tennessee's congressional delegation. "Once meth is cooked, a toxic residue remains on the walls, floors and furniture in the lab, leaving behind a potentially unsafe environment for future inhabitants.

"When you consider that a meth lab can be set up in a house, an apartment, hotel room, or even in the trunk of a car, it is critical to make sure these sites are adequately cleaned before someone else begins using them."

Gordon is Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, which has jurisdiction over all civilian research and development programs of the federal government.

The congressman introduced a version of H.R. 365 in the 109th Congress, and the bill was approved unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives. Gordon is hopeful that this bill will be approved by the 110th Congress.

The Drug Enforcement Administration reports that more than 850 meth labs were seized in Tennessee in 2005, accounting for 75 percent of all lab seizures in the Southeast. Only three states in the nation reported more math lab seizures than Tennessee.

"While Tennessee has been hit especially hard by meth abuse, the problem isn't limited to any one state," said Gordon. "We must take action now to get this dangerous drug out of our nation's communities."

According to a 2006 National Drug Threat Survey of state and local law enforcement agencies across the nation, meth was named most often as the greatest drug threat in communities.

Gordon's legislation also would require a study by the National Academy of Sciences on the long-term health impacts meth exposure has on first-responders, as well as children taken from meth lab sites.

Tennessee's Department of Children's Services reports that about 300 children were placed into state custody in 2005 because of meth-related incidents.

"All too often, meth addiction overrides the parental instincts," said Gordon. "As a result, innocent children are put into foster care because their parents are neglecting them rather than providing them a safe and loving home."

http://gordon.house.gov/newsroom/press_070112_methbill.shtml