Robbins' Anti-Methamphetamine Legislation Moves Out of Senate Committee

"Pennsylvania Combat Meth Initiative" Moves Forward

Harrisburg – Two anti-methamphetamine bills sponsored by Senator Bob Robbins (R-50) have been approved from Committee. The first bill is aimed at protecting children from meth labs while the second seeks to make retailers and their employees aware of any suspicious activity when it comes to customers purchasing ingredients that could be used to make meth.

*Senate Bill 1120 -- approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week -- would amend the Crimes Code by making it a misdemeanor for operating a meth lab while supervising a child.

*Senate Bill 1121 would establish into law the "Meth Watch" Program. This joint program, between the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and retailers, trains clerks to be aware of individuals attempting to purchase meth ingredients in high quantities. The bill also aims to educate and warn consumers about meth and the illegal purchase of meth ingredients. The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee unanimously approved the bill today.

Methamphetamine production is a serious problem whose popularity is spreading because most of the ingredients used to make it can be purchased in local stores. The drug is "cooked" in home-made labs and is highly addictive and deadly.

"Meth has become an epidemic across the nation," said Sen. Robbins. "More than 12 million people in the U.S. have used this highly additive drug. Users suffer permanent damage as brain cells are left with altered nerve endings. The truth is the threat goes beyond the actual user -- kids are neglected, or worse, exposed to the harmful effects of meth labs. With this in mind, I introduced Senate Bill 1120, to provide a deterrent, or punishment, for putting children in harms way."

"The Meth Watch Program, which originated in Kansas, has a proven track record," said Robbins. "Through this program, law enforcement and retailers work together to increase awareness about the diversion of legal products -- ingredients to make meth -- and assist local communities in addressing the meth problem." For more information on Meth Watch, go to www.methwatch.com.

These two bills are a part of the "Pennsylvania Combat Meth Initiative," a broader seven-bill package in the Senate:

*SB 1115 would add the definition of "precursor substance" to the Controlled Substance Act. This would allow the Secretary of Health to add chemicals to the current list of controlled substances by regulation if they are found to be used in the production of drugs.

*SB 1116 would limit the sale of pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient in many over-the-counter cold medicines.

*SB 1117 would make it a criminal offense to operate a meth lab and impose additional penalties for operating a lab near a school or day care center.

*SB 1118 would make it a specific violation of the Controlled Substance Act to possess an ephedrine-related substance with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.

*SB 1119 would allow courts to assess costs on a defendant convicted of an offense involving a meth lab and assess environmental clean-up costs against the defendant.

CONTACT:

Nate Silcox
(717) 787-1322