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™)

Attacks on Bush Meth Plan Continue

Embarrassing" and "inadequate" were some of the words key GOP lawmakers used to describe the methamphetamine plan announced last week by the Bush administration.

The Gannett News Service reported Aug. 23 that Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) kept up a drumbeat of criticism despite attempts by three Bush cabinet members to tout a federal anti-meth strategy.

"If this is a cohesive national policy, it is embarrassing," said Souder, who chairs the primary House subcommittee on drug policy. Grassley said the plan left administration officials with "egg on their face."

Critics say the Bush plan doesn't do enough to control the chemicals used to make meth in small-time clandestine labs. Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) noted that the plan does not require stores to pull medicines containing pseudoephedrine -- used to make meth -- from store shelves and place them behind pharmacy counters. Grassley said the omission showed that the administration is "listening more to Wal-Mart than to the economic and social problems" caused by meth.

"Their plan is inadequate," Talent said. "If they are not in the dark (about meth), they are in the twilight. They need to come up with a strategy