Meth's a global problem.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Congress is finally beginning to catch on to a methamphetamine epidemic that Oregon has been struggling with for decades.

As the scourge of meth addiction and the crimes it spawns - from identity theft to child abuse - spread across the rest of the nation, federal lawmakers are pushing a number of promising anti-meth measures through Congress.

Last week, the House overwhelmingly approved two measures intended to halt the flow of pseudoephedrine, a critical ingredient in the drug's manufacture, to Mexican meth labs that produce nearly two-thirds of the meth sold in the United States.

Both of the measures were amendments to the U.S. State Department's annual authorization bill and drew broad bipartisan support. That support ought to be replicated in the Senate, where Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith should introduce similar amendments to that chamber's version of the State Department authorization.

One measure would require the State Department to analyze the imports of pseudoephedrine by Mexico and other top importing countries to estimate legitimate annual demand for each. The State Department would then be authorized to withhold foreign aid from countries that allow excessive imports.

The second measure would require U.S. diplomats to work with Mexican officials to reduce illicit imports of pseudoephedrine and to combat the smuggling of meth into the United States. It would provide the State Department with $4 million to carry out this mission and require annual progress reports to Congress.

A recent investigation by The Oregonian newspaper determined that Mexico's pharmaceutical industry requires between 90 and 130 tons of pseudoephedrine annually to satisfy that country's legitimate commercial demand. Last year, it imported nearly twice that amount, with the remainder feeding super-labs operated by Mexico's well organized drug cartels.

Much more needs to be done to halt the flood of meth that pours into this country each year. States such as Oregon and Oklahoma have adopted laws regulating the sale of pseudoephedrine. Under increasing political pressure, U.S. pharmaceutical firms have begun reformulating cold remedies to avoid using pseudophedrine or other products that can be used to manufacture meth. Legislation pending in Congress would follow Oregon's lead and require states to move cold medicines containing pseudophedrine behind pharmacy counters and require identification and signatures to purchase the drugs.

But a truly effective national assault on meth will require that Congress take the fight to Mexico and other countries that are major suppliers to the United States. Until recently, federal lawmakers and the White House have been frustratingly slow even to recognize meth as a major drug problem.

With an estimated 1.5 million Americans now regularly smoking, snorting, swallowing or injecting meth, lawmakers finally appear ready to begin the battle in earnest. At a workshop earlier this month in Portland, White House deputy drug czar Scott Burns called meth "the most destructive, dangerous, terrible drug that's come along in a long time."

Sounds like federal officials are finally beginning to grasp a meth reality that Oregonians have long understood with painful clarity.