According to a new study of 500 local officials across the country, the biggest problem drug in the United States today is not crack cocaine, heroine or pot but methamphetamines. Meth, as its more commonly known, is responsible for increases in robbery, violence and many other social and welfare problems.
Local officials also agreed that the diversion of funds to the president's so-called 'war on terror' has reduced funds available to fight the problems associated with meth. They have asked lawmakers to restore financing for a program to fight drugs in local schools that was eliminated from the 2006 federal budget.
Those surveyed also said that the Bush administration was focusing too much on marijuana and not enough on methamphetamines which present a much larger set of problems.
At a news conference held in Washington, DC on Wednesday, Angelo Kyle, the president of the National Association of Counties told reporters, 'This is a national problem that requires national leadership.'
Meth has been a big problem in rural areas although it is now spreading to cities. The drug is inexpensive and easy to produce using chemicals from cold medicines or easily available on farms. Labs are often hastily created in barns or houses.
Many serious explosions result from making meth since the ingredients are highly flammable. The high from the drug can last for several hours and it is a highly addictive substance.
Of 500 law enforcement agencies in 45 states, 87 percent reported increases in methamphetamine-related arrests in the last three years, and 62 percent reported increases in laboratory seizures.
Fifty-eight percent said methamphetamine was their largest drug problem. Nineteen percent said cocaine was, 17 percent said marijuana and 3 percent said heroin. The problem is most acute in the Upper Midwest.
In addition to drug busts and lab busts, authorities say meth abuse leads to an increase in robbery, child abuse, assault, domestic violence and identity theft. It has also overcrowded a number of jails, particularly in rural areas.
'Meth abuse is ruining lives and families and filling our jails,' Bill Hansell, president-elect of the association and a commissioner from Umatilla County, Oregon told the 'New York Times.'
The group also called for more money to be put into rehab programs to help people kick the habit of taking meth.
