FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AG
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1996                       (202) 616-2777
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
     ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO UNVEILS 14-STATE MIDWEST STRATEGY
              TO STOP THE SPREAD OF METHAMPHETAMINE


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Stepping up the war on a deadly drug
that is spreading east across America, Attorney General Janet
Reno today unveiled a 14-state Midwest Methamphetamine Strategy
to raise public awareness, boost intelligence sharing, and train
local law enforcement how to handle methamphetamine trafficking. 
The Midwestern Strategy builds upon the Administration's National
Methamphetamine Strategy announced by Reno last April.

     "The time to stop methamphetamine is now," said Reno,
"before it sweeps through the American heartland."  In April, the
Administration sent Congress methamphetamine control legislation. 
Reno, who was joined by Thomas Monaghan, U.S. Attorney from
Omaha, Nebraska, and DEA Administrator Thomas Constantine, called
upon Congress to send the President a strong bill before it
adjourns.

     Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system stimulant
that law enforcement officers and members of the treatment
community say is often responsible for violent, erratic behavior,
putting law enforcement and the community at risk.  Significant
methamphetamine abuse can lead to domestic violence, child
neglect and abuse, including "shaken baby" syndrome, and possibly
plays a causative role in HIV infection in and transmission by
female methamphetamine users.

     Last April, as part of the National Methamphetamine
Strategy, Reno instructed every U.S. Attorney to organize an
anti-methamphetamine plan that coordinated the efforts of
federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as the
resources of the medical, education and business communities in
their districts.  

     Seventeen U.S. Attorneys from Midwestern states, who had
already formed an alliance together with DEA, INS, FBI and U.S.
Customs Service, devised a strategy that addressed problems
unique to the Midwest.  The U.S Attorney from Utah has since
joined the strategy.

     Methamphetamine, which is a cheap, relatively simple drug to
manufacture, is rapidly moving from the West Coast to the Mid-west.
Last year, DEA agents in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain
Divisions made nearly three times more methamphetamine arrests
than only three years earlier.  In 1996, law enforcement officers
seized 34 clandestine methamphetamine labs in Kansas, 44 in
Arkansas, and 171 in Missouri.  Since 1993, in the Southern
District of Iowa, the number of methamphetamine defendants has
tripled.

     Officials believe that the upsurge in methamphetamine use
stems from polydrug trafficking organizations importing Mexican-
produced methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.  The National
Methamphetamine Strategy calls for increased international
cooperation and attention to movement of methamphetamine across
the Southwest Border.  Officials caution, however, that as we
provide greater interdiction efforts on the border, we must--at
the same time--ensure that the criminals do not build more
clandestine labs in the Midwest.  The labs, in addition to making
the drug more available, create special health and safety risks
for the community because of the volatile and toxic properties of
the drug, and pollute the soil and water supply.   

     The Midwest Strategy, which will build upon the successful
efforts of law enforcement in the region to date, consists of
three components.  First, each district will designate an
Assistant U.S. Attorney to coordinate investigations between
state, federal and local law enforcement, share intelligence, and
control illegal distribution of chemicals used to make
methamphetamine.

     Second, law enforcement will be trained to detect precursor
chemicals, investigate labs, safely seize methamphetamine-making
materials, and understand the pharmacological and psychoactive
effects of the drug.  The DEA and FBI have already begun training
in many districts.

     Third, the strategy includes educating communities about the
dangers of methamphetamine and setting up prevention and
treatment programs.  The Midwest alliance will launch a public
information campaign, organize communities to counter the
problem, develop school and community-based drug demand reduction
education programs, and evaluate the availability of drug
treatment and rehabilitation. 

     The National Methamphetamine Strategy, from which the
regional strategy stems, called for stepped-up law enforcement
efforts against clandestine methamphetamine labs and traffickers,
new penalties for trafficking, tighter regulatory controls on
chemicals used to make methamphetamine, enhanced international
cooperation to stop methamphetamine smuggling, and a public
awareness campaign.

     The states in the Midwest Strategy include Minnesota,
Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri,
Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa
and Utah.
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