Senator Dave Cogdill is
continuing his push to eliminate the problem of methamphetamine from rural
California. The Senator from Modesto that represents our neighbors to the south has announced his
introduction of Senate Bills 591 and 592. Senate Bill 591 would change the possession of
methamphetamine from a simple misdemeanor to a felony carrying the punishment
of imprisonment in a state facility. Senate Bill 592 proposes creating a new fund within the
Illegal Drug Lab Cleanup Account to assist land owners in paying the costs for
the removal of methamphetamine by- products illegally dumped on their property.
Cogdill says, “Methamphetamine
use has grown exponentially over the last few years. Senate Bills 591 and 592
will aid this effort by creating a harsher penalty for those who simply posses
meth and by
providing assistance to those who suffer the consequences of the dumping of
meth by-products on their land.”
Senator Cogdill’s last bill
aimed at the methamphetamine issue was killed in committee in January 2006. The
Assembly Committee on Public Safety voted to kill what Cogdill called a
commonsense measure designed to curb methamphetamine production by outlawing
the possession of more than one half pound of ephedrine or pseudoephredine. Methamphetamine abuse
leads to many social problems in communities including increases in crime,
child neglect and/or abuse, and unemployment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, more than 2 million Californians aged 12 or older (or 7.3 percent of
the population) have used methamphetamine at least once in their lives. “As the law stands, somebody who possesses methamphetamine may be
charged with a mere misdemeanor, which is not severe enough of a punishment to
deter criminals. SB 591 sends a clear message
that we are serious about stopping meth use in our neighborhoods,” commented
Cogdill.
