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Pearson helps Attorney General task force tackle meth issues
Rep.
Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, praised the methamphetamine task force
recommendations announced yesterday aimed at helping communities around
the state fight meth use and crimes that result from the use and
manufacturing of meth.
The task force formed last August, “Operation: Allied Against Meth,” was
made up of 17 state and local law enforcement officials, prosecutors,
business and community members, treatment professionals and elected
officials.
“I take the lives and safety in the communities of my home district and
the state very seriously. Not only is methamphetamine dangerous to
manufacture and clean up but crimes such as identity theft, auto theft
and violence are collateral elements that make meth lethal to the user
and innocent victims in the community,” said Pearson, who is ranking
Republican on the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee.
Following the adjournment of today’s final task force meeting, the top
recommendations made by the task force and its subcommittees were
announced. Of the many issues raised by the group, the priorities for
2006 are:
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Creating a crime,
separate from manufacturing, for possession of large quantities of
precursor chemicals used in the manufacturing process.
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Washington should seek
parity with Oregon and Idaho on penalties, so that meth traffickers
and manufacturers aren't moving back and forth across state lines to
avoid stricter sanctions.
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For offenders
sentenced under the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative, time off
for good behavior should be reduced from 50 percent to 33 percent,
with multiple sentences served consecutively.
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Ask the state to step
in and directly support local law enforcement in the war on drugs by
spending, at a minimum, $3 million to plug the holes cut by federal
grant cuts.
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Establish new
guidelines to help vulnerable adults endangered by meth use, similar
to the drug-endangered children protocols now in place.
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Secure funding for
state and local health departments to ensure cleanup at meth labs
occurs.
“Overall, I am pleased
with the recommendations. There’s no quick fix, but we have to start
somewhere and we have to start now,” said Pearson. “An action plan and
solid legislation will be the first steps to a ‘no tolerance’ policy on
meth and will begin to break the cycle of crimes related to the drug’s
use. Here at home, it’s a top priority.”
Pearson notes that of the
more than 1,300 meth labs reported by the Department of Ecology in the
last year, 199 were found in King County, 101 were located in Snohomish
County, 31 were found in Skagit County and 25 were discovered in Whatcom
County.
“Though the state reports
a slight drop in meth labs discovered from the previous year, even one
meth lab in one community is too many,” said Pearson.
“In order to tackle
methamphetamine and every element associated with it, we need to work
together. I am hopeful that these recommendations will spawn good
legislation to help us win the war against methamphetamine here in the
39th District and around the state,” Pearson said.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Bobbi Cussins, Public Information Officer:
(360) 786-7252
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