CRIMINAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE

MID-SIZED CITIES AND RURAL COMMUNITIES METHAMPHETAMINE INITIATIVE: "NO PLACE TO HIDE"

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has long been concerned about drug abuse and its impacts on cities of all sizes; and

WHEREAS, in 1997, the Conference sponsored a National Forum on Drug Control in Washington, DC and released a National Action Plan to Control Drugs which was developed by mayors, police chiefs, and prosecutors; and

WHEREAS, the National Action Plan to Control Drugs called for immediate action on the growing concern of methamphetamine, a drug which is being manufactured in Mexico and in the United States using ingredients which are readily available and sold in grocery stores, with instructions for making it available on the Internet; and

WHEREAS, clandestine labs that are used to manufacture methamphetamine pose an environmental and safety hazard, as toxic wastes are frequently dumped on the ground or into waterways; and

WHEREAS, methamphetamine use is a rapidly expanding problem in western states, in mid-sized cities and rural communities, and is now spreading east and to larger communities; and

WHEREAS, mid-sized cities and rural communities are often vulnerable and ill equipped to address this threat; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors sponsored a national meeting entitled "The Drug Crisis in Cities and Rural Communities" on January 26, 2000 at which federal, state and local experts on prevention, treatment and interdiction of methamphetamine and rural substance abuse worked with the nation’s mayors to develop the framework for a comprehensive methamphetamine initiative; and

WHEREAS, during that meeting, a report commissioned by the Conference and prepared by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, entitled "No Place to Hide: Substance Abuse in Mid-Sized Cities and Rural America," found that in 1999, when comparing 8th-graders in cities versus rural areas, rural children were:

• 78 percent likelier to have used amphetamines, including meth, than those in urban areas;
• 75 percent likelier to use crack cocaine;
• 52 percent likelier to use cocaine; and
• 26 percent likelier to smoke marijuana; and

WHEREAS, on the growth of meth production in America, the report found that DEA seizures of meth labs increased seven-fold in the past five years, from 224 in 1994 to 1,627 in 1998. In addition, local and state police seized an additional 4,132 clandestine labs in 1998; and

WHEREAS, the cost of meth lab cleanup averages $3,000 per site, with cases reaching as high as $100,000, and local police and fire personnel must be equipped with special safety suits in order to come in contact with the highly toxic chemicals; and

WHEREAS, legislation has been overwhelmingly approved by the United States Senate which would increase support for efforts to fight meth, and increase penalties for meth production,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls for immediate action to implement the recommendations of the Conference of Mayors commissioned CASA report entitled "No Place to Hide: Substance Abuse in Mid-Sized Cities and Rural America," and the report of the Federal Interagency Methamphetamine Task Force, to initiate demonstration projects that will develop, test and implement prevention, treatment and interdiction strategies for methamphetamine in mid-sized cities and rural communities, which can then be applied to cities of all sizes as the methamphetamine crisis spreads across the nation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Congress enact and fund a comprehensive effort to fight the growing problem of methamphetamine including increased support for: federal, state and law enforcement; site clean-up; and prevention and treatment.