The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine- Among illegal drugs, methamphetamine has surpassed marijuana as the greatest danger to the nation’s children, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Monday.
But law enforcement officials are making progress in battling the scourge of meth abuse, Gonzales told the summer conference of the National District Attorneys Association.
Meth lab seizures, for example, plunged in states such as Oklahoma, Oregon and Arkansas after they restricted consumer access to cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in manufacturing the drug.
“These results are dramatic and they’re real,” Gonzales said. “They show progress is possible.”
Methamphetamine was once associated with rural, blue-collar users. But the drug has invaded big cities and its abusers now include members of all racial and economic groups, Gonzales said.
“In terms of damage to children and to our society, meth is now the most dangerous drug in America, having surpassed marijuana,” Gonzales said.
More than half of the sheriffs interviewed for a National Association of Counties survey released earlier this month said they considered meth the most serious problem facing their departments.