Grassley wants drug czar fired

DES MOINES, IA - Sen. Charles Grassley on Wednesday called for President Bush to fire the nation's drug czar, claiming more needs to be done to combat methamphetamine abuse.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy, has been focusing too much on curbing marijuana use, said Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley said he wrote Walters calling for more action on meth and the response he received was "basically, bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo."

"I think the president ought to fire the drug czar," Grassley told reporters Wednesday during a conference call.

"Marijuana obviously is a very big drug problem, particularly with the more pure marijuana that's out there now. But the mind-altering aspects of meth are just tremendous, and the change of personality that comes, and the danger of it that comes, particularly when it's domestically made."

Grassley is the chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. According to a recent study, his state has the nation's third highest meth treatment rate behind Oregon and Hawaii.

I grew up in rural Alabama...farms...catfish grill...honest men...simple life...but that was 30 years ago...as I left and joined the air force. So fast forward to four years ago. We had a guy drive by my dad's house at a high rate of speed...trying to catch up with a another car. Up the road about five miles...he finally caught up and forced the first driver to pull over. The second guy calmly got out...walked to the window of the first guy...and shot him dead on the road. Witneses were on the scene within seconds of the episode and no issue about identification of the shooter. Meth user.

Same period....the house above my dad's farm...the wife...always working...almost 18 hours a day...four kids...part-time job...gets into a late-night argument with the husband. She pulls a knife and slices his throat in a heartbeat. He is gasping and the four kids are trying to get 911. She walks out the door...and walks at least four miles to a relatives house at midnight. He lives...agrees not to prosecute...moma comes home...within four months...she disappears. After a couple of weeks, she calls from out west...she caught a ride with a trucker. Comes home eventually....for a couple of months...then does the same thing again except longer. After 3 years of this...she eventually turns up dead. Meth user.

Crime in town? Yep...ten times what you had 30 years ago. Its only a town of 350-odd people and another 2000 within five miles. There are robberies every week now. The amusing thing is that its all nickle and dime stuff...your chain saw from the garage turns up missing, the $400 Craftsmen saw disappears, the $200 tool box you keep behind the seat of your truck, the $30 weed wacker that you bought at Wal-mart last month, etc. Everyone has homeowners insurance now...and the local insurance guy gets calls each week. The customers are nickle and diming his company to death. He ends up paying out thousands per month...dozens of checks...and the rates can only go up. But thats the whole purpose of insurance...right?

Cops busy? Nope. The one and only cop in town is busy doing DWI's...because that pays a percentage back to him. He drives out of the city limits and drive sup to five miles away...to get these DWI's. He won't bother with the crimes or meth users...because it doesn't pay. In fact, the county cops don't want to mess with the meth guys because once you find the trailer (yep, its always a trailer)...then you bust the lab...well...then you got a toxic waste area to clean. Someone has to pay the $10k to $30k to do that...ain't going to be the meth user...cause he is broke. The county gets stuck with that bill.

How big a problem is it in this po-dunk down? Out of 2,300 odd possible people...you've probably got ten users currently. But don't worry...that will double in five years. Meth is cheap and easy to make. We don't need Juan in Peru to grow the stuff...just Bubba, a trailer, a bathtub, and $300 of ingredients you buy at different stores. Don't even worry about the death rate...new users will keep the percentage pumped up and even grow.

Fearful of the cops coming to your trailer and catching you brew meth? Don't worry...just drive to the state lodge...rent a room...brew it right in the tub there. Silly? Nope...thats exactly what they did at the Joe Wheeler State Park lodge last year. Two meth dudes rented the room...and then as they attempted to leave...the maid finally is allowed in the room...and the guys are carrying the towels to the dumpster (they were nice enough to do that). They had wiped down the tub with the towels...awful kind of them. Maid runs to the lodge chief, and they actually get the guards at the lodge to pull the guys over. By this point...the chief and the maid notice a bad smell from that room...toxic zone. Yep...had to bring the pro's to clean the place down...probably over $10k for that...coming out of lodge funds. You can sue Bubba and his friend all you want...they ain't got cash or property. Just meth.

Multiply this story by 10,000 and you start to paint a new picture of America in 2006. Its not your hometown anymore. Its not clean. Its not pure. Meth is on your doorstep. The local cops, the county sheriff, the state police, the FBI, the US marshalls service...even the drug czar...none of them really care about this. Its rural...its never-ending...and no careers to be made off busting meth users.

Grassley can fire whoever he wants...it doesn't really matter. This problem is way beyond the grasp of any national politican or senator or drug czar. Its hard to see how anything will improve on this issue.

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