WHEREAS, methamphetamine abuse continues to be a major problem resulting in over 17,200 hospital admissions in 1997, up from 4,900 admissions in 1991; and

WHEREAS, a direct result of the growing popularity of methamphetamine as a drug of abuse has been the phenomenal increase in the number of clandestine laboratories encountered by law enforcement, over 5,360 nationwide in 1998, with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) encounters increasing from 218 in 1993 to 1,604 in 1998; and

WHEREAS, these clandestine laboratories, because of their volatile and explosive nature, represent a serious threat to the safety of law enforcement personnel who encounter them in the course of their duties and others who are in the immediate vicinity during their operation; and

WHEREAS, these clandestine laboratories, as a result of the toxic chemicals utilized to produce methamphetamine, are a serious environmental threat to the communities where they are located; and

WHEREAS, over 90% of law enforcement agencies' actions are historically commenced and prosecuted by state or local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors; and

WHEREAS, the serious threat of methamphetamine production and abuse represents a danger to all communities and the citizens whom law enforcement officers are sworn to protect; and

WHEREAS, there currently exists a lack of comprehensive and uniform laws at the state level to address the growing phenomena of illicit clandestine laboratories, particularly concerning controls on precursor chemicals, pharmaceutical products and tools and instruments used in the production process of these illicit laboratories; and

WHEREAS, the lack of uniformity includes strong laws that provide law enforcement agencies the ability to interdict the utilization of these precursors and laboratory instruments and arrest those who intend to utilize them for the illegal production of drugs when there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have such an intent; and

WHEREAS, the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws is currently working with legislative authorities at the state level to develop model drug laws that address these issues; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police duly assembled at its 106th Annual Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, strongly encourages and supports the creation and adoption of such model state drug laws to provide law enforcement personnel with the legal authority to arrest and prosecute those found in possession of such chemicals or laboratory equipment with the intent to manufacture illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that all such laws should include firm and fixed penalties that are commensurate with the public threat these hazardous laboratories and their illicit products represent to the citizens of this country; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that all such legislation include strong financial penalties for those involved in the creation and operation of these illegal laboratories, to include the cost of all expenditures necessary to clean up these laboratory sites.