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House Passes Bill to Toughen Penalties for Meth-Related Crimes
By Niki Sullivan, The Associated Press
July 27, 2005
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A bill to toughen punishments for methamphetamine-related crimes was overwhelmingly passed Wednesday by the House, sending the measure to Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
The bill, approved 54-1, is one of a two-measure package intended to combat a drug problem that law enforcement and social service providers call an epidemic.
Besides stiffening the punishment for those caught with methamphetamine, the House-passed bill targets meth abusers who expose others to the drug.
People leaving children or the elderly in places where meth is made could be charged with criminal mistreatment or child neglect. The measure also allows judges to suspend child visitation rights for parents whose meth abuse is endangering their children.
Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, said the bill would help reduce property crime, abuse and other meth-related offenses across the state.
Krieger, who was among a bipartisan group of lawmakers that wrote the bills, said the House-passed measure has provisions that could also reduce the number of repeat offenders.
"Increased penalties are an important component of this bill, but more important is the in-prison recovery," Krieger said, because it gives convicted meth abusers the best chance of kicking their addiction while serving time.
Rep. Debbie Boone, D-Cannon Beach, said the meth scourge in her area was one of the reasons she ran for office. She asked the House to pass the bill unanimously in a show of solidarity against meth abuse in the state.
Rep. Kelley Wirth, D-Corvallis, cast the lone negative vote.
She said after the vote that the bill would do more harm than good because it could tear apart families. She said there are provisions to remove parental rights, but nothing to help put families back together.
"This, I think, just seeks to break the cycle of drug addiction by breaking the family up completely," she said.
The other bill in the meth package, which also has passed the House, would make Oregon the first state to require prescriptions for cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, which can be made into meth.
That bill has been approved by a Senate committee and sent to the full Senate.
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