Biden signs law to tackle rising meth abuse

President Joe Biden signed legislation Monday aimed at countering the rising scourge of meth abuse in the United States.

The new legislation, titled the Methamphetamine Response Act, “obliges the government to designate methamphetamine as an ’emerging drug threat’ and to develop a methamphetamine-specific response plan,” according to a press release.

The bill had bipartisan support in the House and Senate: its sponsors were Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah ).

Feinstein, the senior California senator, thanked Biden for signing the bill, noting statistics showing that meth abuse “has increased sharply in recent years.”

According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, “methamphetamine overdose deaths nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019 among people ages 18 to 64 in the United States.” This study, published last year, showed that “the number of people who reported using methamphetamine during this period did not gain as much weight, but the analysis found that populations with methamphetamine use disorder have become more diverse,” suggesting that “an increase in risk patterns of methamphetamine use, such as . B. Rise in methamphetamine use disorder, frequent use, and concomitant use of other drugs may contribute to increases in overdose deaths.”

Earlier this month, the NIH reported that an “analysis of law enforcement seizures of illicit drugs in five key regions of the United States found an increase in seizures of methamphetamine and marijuana (cannabis) during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Having worked on this critical issue for the past several years, I am pleased to see that our Methamphetamine Response Act has come into force after receiving strong bipartisan support from Congress,” Grassley said in the release. “Although meth is not a new drug, traffickers are finding ways to increase its potency and expand its distribution, which has led to increases in overdose rates. Our new law will help law enforcement better respond to the challenges posed by evolving tactics by drug traffickers, and it will ensure our federal partners continue to prioritize a response and strategy to address the meth crisis. I want to thank Senator Feinstein for her partnership on this matter.”

In addition to declaring meth an emerging drug threat, the new law will require the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act to “develop, implement and publish, within 90 days of the effective date, a national emerging threat response plan specifically designed to address methamphetamine is tailored. ”

That plan must be updated each year, according to the press release, and must include: “An assessment of the methamphetamine threat, including current availability and demand for the drug, and evidence-based prevention and treatment programs rather than law enforcement programs; short- and long-term goals, including those focused on reducing supply and demand and expanding the availability and effectiveness of treatment and prevention programs; key performance indicators related to plan objectives; the amount of funding required to implement the plan; and an implementation strategy, goals and objectives for a media campaign.”

Rep. Peters, a California Democrat, referred to his home district, which includes San Diego, when speaking of his support for the new law.

“San Diego, once known as the meth capital of the United States, has a long history of fighting methamphetamine production and addiction. Law enforcement officials still refer to our region as “ground zero” for the country’s meth problem, and a surge in the amount of drugs smuggled across the US-Mexico border in recent years has led to overdose cases in the US skyrocketed,” said Peters. “The new law will address this issue head-on by requiring the Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to develop, implement and publish a national plan to prevent methamphetamine addiction and overdose from becoming a crisis. As meth-related deaths continue to rise each year, we need to recognize meth as a new threat nationwide.”