To respond to the illegal production, distribution, and use of methamphetamine in the United States, and for other purposes.

January 24, 2005

Mr. TALENT (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BAYH, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. COLEMAN, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To respond to the illegal production, distribution, and use of methamphetamine in the United States, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Combat Meth Act of 2005'.

TITLE I--ENFORCEMENT

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS RELATING TO COPS GRANTS.

(a) In General- In addition to any other funds authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2006 for grants under part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.), commonly known as the COPS program, there are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for such purpose to provide training to State and local prosecutors and law enforcement agents for the investigation and prosecution of methamphetamine offenses.

(b) Rural Set-Aside- Of amounts made available under subsection (a), $3,000,000 shall be available only for prosecutors and law enforcement agents for rural communities.

SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE HOT SPOTS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT FOR ENFORCEMENT, PROSECUTION, AND CLEANUP.

Section 1701(d) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(d)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (11) by striking `and' at the end;

(2) in paragraph (12) by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(13) hire personnel and purchase equipment to assist in the enforcement and prosecution of methamphetamine offenses and the cleanup of methamphetamine-affected areas.'.

SEC. 103. SPECIAL UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS' PROGRAM.

(a) In General- The Attorney General shall allocate any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under subsection (c) for the hiring and training of special assistant United States attorneys.

(b) Use of Funds- The funds allocated under subsection (a) shall be used to--

(1) train local prosecutors in techniques used to prosecute methamphetamine cases, including the presentation of evidence related to the manufacture of methamphetamine;

(2) train local prosecutors in Federal and State laws involving methamphetamine manufacture or distribution;

(3) cross-designate local prosecutors as special assistant United States attorneys; and

(4) hire additional local prosecutors who--

(A) with the approval of the United States attorney, shall be cross-designated to prosecute both Federal and State methamphetamine cases;

(B) shall be assigned a caseload, whether in State court or Federal court, that gives the highest priority to cases in which--

(i) charges related to methamphetamine manufacture or distribution are submitted by law enforcement for consideration; and

(ii) the defendant has been previously convicted of a crime related to methamphetamine manufacture or distribution.

(c) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to carry out the provisions of this section.

SEC. 104. PSEUDOEPHEDRINE AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.

(a) Addition of Pseudoephedrine to Schedule V- Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(6) Any detectable quantity of pseudoephedrine, its salts or optical isomers, or salts of optical isomers.'.

(b) Prescriptions- Section 309(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 829(c)) is amended--

(1) by inserting `(1)' before `No controlled substance'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(2) If the substance described in paragraph (6) of Schedule V of section 202 is dispensed, sold, or distributed in a pharmacy--

`(A) the substance shall be dispensed, sold, or distributed only by a licensed pharmacist or a licensed pharmacy technician; and

`(B) any person purchasing, receiving, or otherwise acquiring any such substance shall--

`(i) produce a photo identification showing the date of birth of such person; and

`(ii) sign a written log or receipt showing--

`(I) the date of the transaction;

`(II) the name of the person; and

`(III) the name and the amount of the substance purchased, received, or otherwise acquired.

`(3)(A) No person shall purchase, receive, or otherwise acquire more than 9 grams of the substance described in paragraph (6) of Schedule V of section 202 within any 30-day period.

`(B) The limit described in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any quantity of such substance dispensed under a valid prescription.

`(4)(A) The Director of the Federal Drug Administration, by rule, may exempt a product from Schedule V of section 202 if the Director determines that the produce is not used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine or other controlled dangerous substance.

`(B) The Director of the Federal Drug Administration, upon the application of a manufacturer of a drug product, may exempt the product from Schedule V of section 202 if the Director determines that the product has been formulated in such a way as to effectively prevent the conversion of the active ingredient into methamphetamine.

`(C) The Director of the Federal Drug Administration, by rule, may authorize the sale of the substance described in paragraph (6) of Schedule V of section 202 by persons other than licensed pharmacists or licensed pharmacy technicians if--

`(i) the Director finds evidence that the absence of a pharmacy creates a hardship for a community; and

`(ii) the authorized personnel follow the procedure set forth in this Act.'.

TITLE II--EDUCATION, PREVENTION, AND TREATMENT

SEC. 201. GRANTS FOR SERVICES FOR CHILDREN OF SUBSTANCE ABUSERS.

Section 519 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-25) is amended--

(1) in subsection (b), by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:

`(9) Development of drug endangered children rapid response teams that will intervene on behalf of children exposed to methamphetamine as a result of residing or being present in a home-based clandestine drug laboratory.'; and

(2) in subsection (o)--

(A) by striking `For the purpose' and inserting the following:

`(1) IN GENERAL- For the purpose'; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

`(2) DRUG ENDANGERED CHILDREN RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS- There are authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to carry out the provisions of subsection (b)(9).'.

SEC. 202. LOCAL GRANTS FOR TREATMENT OF METHAMPHETAMINE ABUSE AND RELATED CONDITIONS.

Subpart 1 of part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb et seq.) is amended--

(1) by redesignating the section 514 that relates to methamphetamine and appears after section 514A as section 514B;

(2) in section 514B, as redesignated--

(A) by amending subsection (a)(1) to read as follows:

`(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED- The Secretary may award grants to States, political subdivisions of States, American Indian Tribes, and private, nonprofit entities to provide treatment for methamphetamine abuse.';

(B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

`(b) Priority for Rural Areas- In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to entities that will serve rural areas experiencing an increase in methamphetamine abuse.'; and

(C) in subsection (d)(1), by striking `2000' and all that follows and inserting `2005 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009'; and

(3) by inserting after section 514B, as redesignated, the following:

`SEC. 514C. METHAMPHETAMINE RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER.

`(a) Program Authorized- The Secretary, acting through the Administrator, and in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall award grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or private, nonprofit entities to establish a research, training, and technical assistance center to carry out the activities described in subsection (d).

`(b) Application- A public or private, nonprofit entity seeking a grant or contract under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

`(c) Condition- In awarding grants or entering into contracts under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 1 of the centers will focus on methamphetamine abuse in rural areas.

`(d) Authorized Activities- Each center established under this section shall--

`(1) engage in research and evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment modalities for the treatment of methamphetamine abuse;

`(2) disseminate information to public and private entities on effective treatments for methamphetamine abuse;

`(3) provide direct technical assistance to States, political subdivisions of States, and private entities on how to improve the treatment of methamphetamine abuse; and

`(4) provide training on the effects of methamphetamine use and on effective ways of treating methamphetamine abuse to substance abuse treatment professionals and community leaders.

`(e) Reports- Each grantee or contractor under this section shall annually submit a report to the Administrator that contains--

`(1) a description of the previous year's activities of the center established under this section;

`(2) effective treatment modalities undertaken by the center; and

`(3) evidence to demonstrate that such treatment modalities were successful.

`(f) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 and 2008.'.

SEC. 203. METHAMPHETAMINE PRECURSOR MONITORING GRANTS.

(a) Grants Authorized- The Attorney General, acting through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, may award grants to States to establish methamphetamine precursor monitoring programs.

(b) Purpose- The purpose of the grant program established under this section is to--

(1) prevent the sale of methamphetamine precursors, such as pseudoephedrine, to individuals in quantities so large that the only reasonable purpose of the purchase would be to manufacture methamphetamine;

(2) educate businesses that legally sell methamphetamine precursors of the need to balance the legitimate need for lawful access to medication with the risk that those substances may be used to manufacture methamphetamine; and

(3) recalibrate existing prescription drug monitoring programs designed to track the sale of controlled substances to also track the sale of pseudoephedrine in any amount greater than 6 grams.

(c) Use of Grant Funds- Grant funds awarded to States under this section may be used to--

(1) implement a methamphetamine precursor monitoring program, including hiring personnel and purchasing computer hardware and software designed to monitor methamphetamine precursor purchases;

(2) expand existing methamphetamine precursor or prescription drug monitoring programs to accomplish the purposes described in subsection (b);

(3) pay for training and technical assistance for law enforcement personnel and employees of businesses that lawfully sell substances, which may be used as methamphetamine precursors;

(4) improve information sharing between adjacent States through enhanced connectivity; or

(5) make grants to subdivisions of the State to implement methamphetamine precursor monitoring programs.

(d) Application- Any State seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may require.

(e) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to carry out the provisions of this section.

END