109th Congress

Combat Meth Act of 2005

S. 103/H.R. 314

Background

According to the National Study on Drug Use and Health, more than 12 million people aged 12 years and older have tried methamphetamine at some point in their lives; in 2004, there were more than 600,000 current users. Methamphetamine abuse is dangerous because it is highly addictive and results in significant detrimental health and social consequences. Methamphetamine acts by increasing the release of dopamine in the brain, which leads to euphoria; however, this sense of euphoria is followed by a “crash,” which often leads to increased use of the drug and, eventually, difficulty in feeling any pleasure. Methamphetamine abuse also results in many damaging physical and psychiatric effects, such as convulsions, stroke, stomach cramps, and cardiac arrhythmia; however, methamphetamine addiction can be successfully treated.

One of the chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine is pseudoephedrine, an ingredient found in cold and allergy medicines. The prevalence of methamphetamine manufacture and abuse is especially problematic in rural areas, where the offensive odor associated with methamphetamine production is less likely to be detected by neighbors or law enforcement agencies. The Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, for example, reported shutting down a record 1,301 methamphetamine laboratories in 2004.

The Combat Meth Act of 2005 would have made pseudoephedrine a Schedule V drug, meaning that it would be available by prescription only; products containing pseudoephedrine would be kept behind a pharmacy counter and would be sold only by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. (Exceptions would have been made for products containing pseudoephedrine that cannot be used to make methamphetamine.) Funding would have been provided to help train local law enforcement and businesses that legally sell pseudoephedrine. Funding would have also been provided for rapid response teams to help children endangered by methamphetamine abuse.

Similar legislation enacted at the State level in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma has been credited with a sharp decrease in domestic methamphetamine production. The Federal Combat Meth Act of 2005 would have reduced the likelihood of methamphetamine manufacturers traveling to other States to purchase products containing pseudoephedrine.

The Federal Act would have also superseded existing State laws to create a national standard.

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

Section 514C of the legislation would have required the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, to establish grant and contract awards with required annual performance updates for the following:

• Research and evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment modalities for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse
• Dissemination of information on effective treatments for methamphetamine abuse
• Technical assistance to States and private entities on how to improve the treatment of methamphetamine abuse
• Training on the effects of methamphetamine use and on effective ways of treating methamphetamine abuse

Status and Outlook

S. 103 was introduced by Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) on January 24, 2005, and was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. On July 28, the bill was placed on the Senate legislative calendar under General Orders. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.

H.R. 314 was introduced by Representative Roy Blunt (R-MO) on January 25, 2005, and was referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.

Provisions pertaining to controlling the import and export of pseudoephedrine were enacted as Title VII (the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005) of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005.