Check it Out: • 1 LB of METH = 5 LBS of   TOXIC WASTE • In 2004 alone, there were more   than 10,000 meth lab cleanups   at a cost of $18.6 million (Source: DEA, NIDA, NIH, USDHHS)

Other Drug Information: Alcohol Cocaine Ecstasy Fentanyl Hallucinogens Heroin Inhalants LSD Marijuana Prescription Drugs Steroids

The Many Faces of Meth: Before After

(Source: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office - Faces of Meth™)

HHS Slammed for Meth Policy, Role in Conference

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) is continuing his assault on the Bush administration's approach to methamphetamine use, criticizing the Department of Health and Human Services for supporting a conference that discusses harm-reduction approaches to battling meth use.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Aug. 17 that Souder, who has harshly criticized the White House for being too passive in addressing meth use, wrote to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt to complain about the agency being listed as a sponsor of the Salt Lake City meth conference, run by the city's Harm Reduction Project. The agency gave $3,000 in travel scholarships to people who wanted to attend the meeting. Other sponsors include the Utah Department of Health, the Utah State Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and the California Department of Health Services.

"I am enormously frustrated with your department for dithering on the meth issue while the rest of America fights an epidemic that is viciously tearing apart families and communities," Souder wrote to Leavitt. "Any claim that your department is unaware of the pro-legalization agenda and 'soft' approach to illegal narcotics of the harm-reduction advocates is utterly implausible."

Topics to be discussed at the conference include "We Don't Need a 'War' on Methamphetamine" and "You Don't Have to Be Clean & Sober. Or Even Want to Be!" Guest speakers include Drug Policy Alliance head Ethan Nadelmann. But conference organizers point out that law-enforcement officials and prosecutors also are involved in the meeting.

The Bush administration is about to release a new anti-meth policy; Leavitt offered few details when asked about Souder's letter, but said that while efforts to stop drug trafficking are important, "we've got to work on the demand side, too."

"We need to convince people that meth will wreck their lives and rot their brains," said Leavitt. "Law enforcement is a big part of it. Another part is prevention and education."