Alabama has seen a significant decrease in methamphetamine (meth) labs since 2014, but meth production and use is still a “serious problem” in Alabama and across the United States.
Efforts such as toughening drug laws and joining the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) system have helped the state combat meth, according to the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.
And there is more that can be done, but Washington-based economic policy consulting firm Matrix Global Advisors (MGA) is suggesting a different approach than continuing to limit access to pseudoephedrine (PSE), which is used to make meth.
A recent study released by MGA addresses current legislative proposals that would restrict access to cold and allergy medicines containing PSE to prescription-only.
According to Alex Brill, MGA’s CEO, restricting PSE-based medicines would cost consumers, insurers, state governments and the federal government $130 million in the first year and limiting PSE-based medicines has “no clear impact on either the supply or the demand for meth.”
Foreign production
Brill suggests focusing on the primary source of meth in the U.S. — foreign production.
“Meth production and use are still serious problems in certain states and regions of the country,” Brill said. “However, prescription-only legislation to limit PSE medicines is a misguided solution. With up to 90 percent of meth in the U.S. coming from Mexico, prescription-only legislation fails to confront the true source of the epidemic or address demand.”
The MGA study recommends legislative efforts to acknowledge that domestic production is only part of the larger issue.
The study states, “To address the problem to its full scope, states and the federal government must increase efforts to both impede foreign supply and reduce domestic demand … through increased education and behavioral intervention.”
That’s exactly what programs created by American Character Builders, a partner ministry of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), are designed to do, said Joe Godfrey, ALCAP executive director.
Resource kits that teach students to say no to meth, marijuana and cocaine were produced in the last few years for churches and schools to use in educating students and adults concerning the dangers of drug use.
Godfrey suggests that churches use the resource kit (approved for use in public schools) to “make a positive impact on individuals and their families” and later offer a follow-up program for students and parents at their church and share the gospel with them there.
Godfrey said the “way to solve meth addictions will require a multifaceted approach” that should include limiting PSE-medicines to prescription only, prevention-focused education, addiction intervention programs and stopping the illegal flow of drugs from Mexico.
He also suggests that looser restrictions on alcohol and marijuana, something “lawmakers keep wanting to do,” make people more susceptible to drug abuse.
“It may cost a lot to carry out such a multifaceted attack on this drug problem,” Godfrey said, “but has anyone done a study to determine the cost to society for not addressing the problem?”
For American Character Builders resources, visit www.americancharacterbuilders.org or call 205-985-9529.
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