Governor's Column - December 7
by Governor Matt Blunt
Continuing Our Fight Against Meth
When the Congress cut anti-meth funding in Missouri it was another sign that Washington is out of touch with Missouri families. We have seen examples of this in Washington's failure to fight illegal immigration and now their failure to fund drug task forces in Missouri that protect our families from the scourge of methamphetamine. Where Washington has failed to act Missouri will ensure these teams have the needed resources to continue in the fight against meth.
Government has a fundamental responsibility to keep our streets, our schools, and our neighborhoods safe, so that Missourians can reach their full potential. Since I was elected governor we have passed significant legislation to better protect Missouri families. With the support of law enforcement we have enacted tough new criminal laws against meth manufacturers, illegal immigrants, repeat DUI offenders, and dangerous sexual predators. With these actions Missouri has not only become a better place to live, work and raise a family, it has become a safer place.
Meth harms communities, tears families apart, and destroys lives. As governor, I have worked with law enforcement to reduce the impact meth has on our state. I have signed landmark legislation making it far more difficult to purchase the raw materials needed to manufacture meth while creating a paper trail for law enforcement officers to follow to investigate potential abuse. The federal government followed our lead soon after. These new laws have made it more difficult for meth makers to operate in our state. Since our state law went into effect, meth incidents have declined by approximately 40 percent in our state.
Local law enforcement has taken bold steps as well. Since 2000, Missouri sheriffs have been using federal funding sponsored by U.S. Senator Kit Bond for the Missouri Sheriff's Methamphetamine Relief Taskforce, or MoSMART, to fight meth and provide vital resources to drug task forces throughout our state. MoSMART is in danger because those who control the Congress in Washington did not listen to leaders like Senator Bond who fought to keep the program. Instead, Washington cut the funding for MoSMART by cutting it out of the federal budget.
To protect Missouri families and ensure that our state's fight against meth continues, I have proposed $1.8 million in supplemental funding for MoSMART to make up for the cuts caused by Washington's abandonment of this vital Missouri program. This funding will ensure that 48 sheriff's departments and Drug Task Force employees around our state who are currently involved in anti-meth efforts will stay involved in anti-meth efforts. We have made great strides in combating meth in our state and I will not let the failure of the Congressional leadership in Washington negate the progress we have made in eliminating the scourge of meth from our state.