Unencumbered bill best solution to meth problem

By now, the dangers of methamphetamine and the insidious nature of meth production and abuse are well known. Here in the Valley, especially, residents are no strangers to the devastation and increase in crime that accompanies meth.

So the Legislature's inability to pass meaningful meth legislation is a growing source of frustration.

Last session, Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, introduced an excellent bill that would have restricted and regulated the sale of over-the-counter ingredients used to make meth. The legislation, House Bill 149, enjoyed bipartisan support in the House, but fell victim to political gamesmanship and gathered dust in a Senate committee chaired by Mat-Su Sen. Lyda Green.

HB 149 was revived at the beginning of this session when Green's committee rolled the governor's proposed anti-marijuana legislation into it. Unfortunately, that move led to another stalemate.

Recognizing that meth and marijuana are unrelated, the House last week rejected the Senate's changes to the original bill, leaving Alaskans without meaningful meth legislation until a compromise is reached. Part of that compromise should include something that was conspicuously absent from the process the first time around - full public hearings in House committees that incorporate a fair and honest look at the facts about marijuana.

When a conference committee of House and Senate members took up the initial &#8220compromise” April 12, Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, argued that, &#8220Whether (people are) high on meth or stoned on pot, it's the same to me.”

Meth and marijuana may be the same in the eyes of Sen. Bunde, but that has little to do with the established facts of the issue.

Valley legislators Mark Neuman and Vic Kohring recognized this when voting against the bill. Given the final tally on the measure - 21 against, 19 for - it is easy to argue that the two made a difference. They deserve the thanks of their constituents for having the courage to do the right thing instead of the Capitol version of the &#8220popular” thing. This is good news for people of the Valley and all Alaskans who would have paid for the certain legal challenges the bill's marijuana provisions would have faced.

Neuman said his opposition reflected feedback he received from his constituents. This should not be surprising, given Alaskans' devotion to privacy rights. What is surprising, and ironic, is that some supporters of the

bill claim to be ardent limited-government

advocates.

Upon hearing of the House rejection of HB 149, Gov. Frank Murkowski issued a press release that contained the following statement:

&#8220The state receives 30 to 40 reports of harm to children a month that are related to methamphetamine. That is unacceptable and unconscionable.”

We couldn't agree more. So it is hard to understand why the governor and his allies would cheapen decent meth legislation with a measure that would impose their personal beliefs on a majority of Alaskans who disagree with them.

The time for a meth bill is now. Nothing should stand in its way. If the governor and others want to change the state's well-established marijuana laws and constitutional right to privacy, they should do so separately.