Feingold Supports Effort to Curb Production of Meth Bipartisan Bill Limits Access to Key Meth Ingredient and Increases Resources for Communities to Fight Meth Production June 29, 2005 Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) has joined a bipartisan effort to curb the production of dangerous illegal methamphetamine, or "meth." Feingold strongly supports a new version of the Combat Meth Act, a bill that was originally introduced earlier this year by Senators Jim Talent (R-MO) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and has since been revised. The bill would take cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine off store shelves and put them behind pharmacy counters. These products are used to make the dangerous meth. The bill also would help state and local officials prevent, investigate and prosecute meth-related offenses, and treat those who have become addicted. "Part of what makes methamphetamine so dangerous is that it is easy to make and highly addictive," Feingold said. "This bill, like a law recently passed in Wisconsin, would make it much harder for producers of this dangerous drug to quickly and easily obtain the necessary ingredient." The new version of the Combat Meth Act would limit the amount of pseudoephedrine-based products any one person can buy in a one-month time period, and permit them to be sold by only pharmacists or others specially licensed to sell pseudoephedrine. The bill also would authorize funds to train state and local prosecutors and law enforcement agents in investigating and prosecuting meth-related offenses, and would provide funding for treatment and for programs to help children affected by family addiction and exposure to meth "labs." Earlier this month, Wisconsin passed a law restricting over-the-counter sales of cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine and requiring those who purchase the medicines to show identification. "Meth continues to plague our communities and endanger our children, especially in rural areas in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest," Feingold said. "I will continue to support measures that help law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and communities as a whole fight back against the dangers of meth."

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