newprotest.org: THE METH PROBLEM

THE METH PROBLEM

May 18, 2005
by: jovial_cynic
Christine Gregoire recently signed a bill that is supposed to curb the outbreak of meth use in Washington State. The solution: make us wait in lines longer at the grocery store when we buy cold medicine. Instead of simply having the item scanned and dropped into the grocery bags, consumers in Washington State will now have to show ID and put their names on a LIST. To be put into a database. A DATABASE.

Listen - I know meth is bad. I know that sudafed can be used to make meth, and that there's a correlation between frequent purchaes of sudafed and meth manufacturing. But somewhere between knowing this, and standing in line to write my name down on a list to buy some sudafed, there's a disconnect. There's a HUGE flaw in the logic behind the bill.

Let's make some distinctions here. There are crimes. And criminals are the folks commiting those crimes. But there are BAD criminals who have no regard for human life, and then there are folks who just break some stupid laws every now and then. For instance, speeding 20 miles over the speed limit is a felony; it makes you a felon, but you're not a BAD criminal.

But here's the problem: The BAD criminals of the world have never been deterred by *processes.*

It's illegal to rob a convenience store, right? It's the law. And do you know what BAD criminals do? They bring a gun into the convenience store and they rob the place. If folks have to show ID and put their name on a list to buy sudafed, BAD criminals will just STEAL sudafed to make their meth. And do you know what? If they want it badly enough, they'll get it. They'll break into homes to get it. They'll rob delivery trucks to get it. People will die. Because that's how BAD criminals work.

So the only folks that will really be impacted is the normal folks like you and me who want to buy cold medicine periodically. We don't want our names on some crazy government list. We already have to wait in line for the folks that want to buy beer and a pack of smokes. This bill will do *nothing* good. Meth on the streets of Washington will still be on the streets of Washington, as most of it comes in from California and Mexico anyway.

Come on Gregoire. Let's find a real solution.
np category: politics
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