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State Representative Tony Cornish
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4240
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS COLUMN
HOUSE LEGISLATION TAKES TOUGH STAND AGAINST METH PRODUCTION
As a former law enforcement officer, I have seen first hand the problems caused by methamphetamine. I have seen meth labs in living rooms, in barns and in the ditches. I have seen children taken from a home that has been busted for cooking this lethal drug. I have seen the impact it has on users and families, and the financial strain it costs to law enforcement and communities.
Once thought to be a rural problem, meth usage and production has now spread to the metro area. Meth has become a statewide epidemic, and recently the Minnesota House did something about it.
On a vote of 127-4, House members approved a bill designed to curb the meth problem. The legislation increases criminal penalties for meth “cooking,” sales and distribution; creates a felony for those who manufacture meth with a child or vulnerable adult present; and places pseudo-ephedrine products like Sudafed - the primary ingredient for meth manufacturing - behind the counter at pharmacies.
In addition, the bill requires a person to show a photo ID with date of birth and sign a receipt or electronic document showing the state, buyer’s name and the drug amount sold; bans the sale of the tablet form of pseudo-ephedrine beginning in Aug. 2006; limits an over-the-counter buyer to no more than six grams in a 30-day period and prohibits over-the-counter sales to anyone under 18; and helps law enforcement and municipalities clean up the toxic waste created by meth production.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has testified that people looking to cook meth travel to states where the products are easiest to access. We in southern Minnesota understand this, as we have seen an overwhelming jump in meth production in the last 10 years.
I believe this legislation will reverse that trend. With stronger sentences for those who create and distribute the drug and restricting the access to products with pseudo-ephedrine, I believe the bill will hinder meth production, and should lessen the number of meth labs operating across the state.
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