Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Methamphetamine Response Act – a bill originally introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that directs the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to implement a plan to address the rising use of methamphetamine. Their proposal, which passed the Senate in December with bipartisan support, now heads to the president’s desk.
“After working on this critical issue for the last few years, I’m glad our Methamphetamine Response Act has passed both the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support. Meth has taken lives and destroyed families across America – particularly in the Midwest. Though this drug is not new, traffickers are finding new and harmful ways to increase meth’s potency and distribution, spiking overdose rates. By declaring meth an emerging drug threat, our bill helps law enforcement better respond to the challenges presented by drug traffickers’ evolving tactics, and it urges our federal partners to continue prioritizing a response and strategy to address the meth crisis. I urge President Biden to sign this legislation into law immediately,” Grassley said.
“A recent study by the National Institutes of Health found that methamphetamine-related overdose deaths nearly tripled from 2015-2019. By designating this dangerous drug as an emerging threat, we’ll be able to better address this problem with a whole-of-government approach,” Feinstein said.
Grassley currently serves as co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Last July, Grassley and Feinstein published a joint op-ed discussing bipartisan strategies to address rising drug abuse and overdoses.
Specifically, the Methamphetamine Response Act will:
- Declare methamphetamine as an emerging drug threat.
- Require ONDCP to develop, implement and make public, within 90 days of enactment, a national emerging threats response plan that is specific to methamphetamine.
- Require ONDCP’s plan to be updated annually and include the following:
- An assessment of the methamphetamine threat, including current availability and demand for the drug;
- An assessment of evidence-based prevention and treatment programs, as well as law enforcement programs;
- Short- and long-term goals, including those focused on supply and demand reduction and on expanding the availability and effectiveness of treatment and prevention programs;
- Performance measures pertaining to the plan’s goals;
- The level of funding needed to implement the plan; and
- An implementation strategy, goals and objectives for a media campaign.
