SENATE MEMORIAL 77

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Timothy Z. Jennings

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING PROGRESS IN REDUCING METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION IN NEW MEXICO AND THE NEED FOR CONTINUING VIGILANCE TO INTERDICT METHAMPHETAMINE TRAFFICKING, PREVENT ABUSE AND ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION CAUSED BY THE ILLICIT MANUFACTURE OF DRUGS.

     WHEREAS, methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug with serious health consequences to its users, and the laboratories where it is illegally manufactured create serious uncontrolled environmental exposures to chemicals that are hazardous and harmful to human health; and

     WHEREAS, pseudoephedrine is a decongestant and methamphetamine precursor that can be used in the street manufacture of methamphetamine; and

     WHEREAS, the second session of the forty-seventh legislature enacted House Bill 211 to restrict the retail sale of pseudoephedrine by making any product containing any detectable quantity of pseudoephedrine a controlled substance; and

     WHEREAS, the changes to the Controlled Substances Act gave the board of pharmacy authority to regulate and restrict the sale of products containing any detectable quantity of pseudoephedrine; and

     WHEREAS, without a valid prescription, only a limited quantity of any pseudoephedrine-containing product may be purchased within a thirty-day period, and a purchaser must produce a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification and sign a detailed record of the transaction; and

     WHEREAS, restricting the purchase of pseudoephedrine corresponds to a reduction in the local manufacture of methamphetamine based upon data from the New Mexico state police; and

     WHEREAS, many states have adopted real-time electronic monitoring used by pharmacies and law enforcement to track sales of over-the-counter cold and allergy medications containing methamphetamine precursors that are used in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine; and

     WHEREAS, these electronic systems may also be used to stop sales to persons who attempt to purchase methamphetamine precursors in quantities that exceed those allowed by law by going from pharmacy to pharmacy; and

     WHEREAS, under state law, property used for clandestine drug manufacturing is presumed to be contaminated and a public nuisance until remediated; and

     WHEREAS, state law requires all law enforcement agencies that discover a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory to provide notice to the department of environment within seven days of its discovery; and

     WHEREAS, the department of environment regulates the assessment and remediation of clandestine drug manufacturing laboratories and is required by law to maintain a list of these sites on the department's web site, based on information received from law enforcement agencies; and

     WHEREAS, the list of clandestine drug laboratories posted on the web site of the department of environment has not been updated for several years;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that despite these efforts, continued vigilance and interagency cooperation is needed to interdict methamphetamine trafficking, prevent abuse and address potential environmental contamination associated with the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board of pharmacy and the department of public safety be requested to study the use of technology to conduct real-time electronic monitoring of over-the-counter purchases of methamphetamine precursors to prevent their illegal purchase by persons involved in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that law enforcement and the department of environment be requested to work together to ensure prompt reporting and posting of clandestine drug laboratories, as required by law; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board of pharmacy, the department of environment and law enforcement agencies be requested to evaluate state-of-the-art technologies to enhance timely communication and coordination of efforts to address the continuing methamphetamine threat; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the secretary of environment, the board of pharmacy and the secretary of public safety for distribution to law enforcement agencies of all state political subdivisions.

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