Methamphetamine Response Act of 2020

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4612 AN ACT To designate methamphetamine as an emerging threat, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 4612 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methamphetamine Re- 2 sponse Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Methamphetamine poses a significant public 6 health and safety threat and qualifies as an emerg- 7 ing drug threat, as defined in section 702 of the Of- 8 fice of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization 9 Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1701). 10 (2) Methamphetamine treatment admissions in- 11 creased from 15.1 percent of all admissions in 2008 12 to 23.6 percent in 2017, the latest year for which 13 data is available. 14 (3) During the timeframe described in para- 15 graph (2)— 16 (A) methamphetamine-related treatment 17 admissions among women increased from 19.2 18 percent of all drug-related treatment admissions 19 to 28.3 percent; and 20 (B) heroin use among those admitted for 21 methamphetamine-related treatment increased 22 from 5.3 percent to 23.6 percent. 23 (4) By the end of 2019, methamphetamine 24 availability, use, purity, and potency had increased 25 nationally, as street-level prices declined. 26 3 † S 4612 ES (5) Methamphetamine use is a nationwide issue. 1 Its use remains widespread in Midwest and Western 2 States and is becoming increasingly prevalent in 3 Northeastern States. 4 (6) Methamphetamine is the drug most often 5 associated with violent crime. 6 (7) According to the Centers for Disease Con- 7 trol and Prevention— 8 (A) between 2018 and 2019, drug overdose 9 deaths involving methamphetamine and other 10 stimulants increased by 27 percent nationally; 11 (B) the number of deaths described in sub- 12 paragraph (A) increased in 27 of the 38 States 13 that provide drug-specific overdose data to the 14 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 15 and 16 (C) between January 2019 and January 17 2020, among 36 States and the District of Co- 18 lumbia, suspected stimulant overdoses, includ- 19 ing methamphetamine, treated in emergency de- 20 partments increased by 23 percent. 21 (8) Methamphetamine-related overdose deaths 22 will likely continue to increase in 2020, due in part 23 to the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic, which makes 24 4 † S 4612 ES obtaining treatment for substance use disorders, in- 1 cluding methamphetamine use, more difficult. 2 (9) The increase in methamphetamine use and 3 the negative respiratory and pulmonary health ef- 4 fects associated with its use has caused the National 5 Institute on Drug Abuse to warn clinicians to be 6 prepared to monitor adverse effects when treating 7 individuals using methamphetamine who also have 8 COVID–19. 9 (10) Since the onset of COVID–19 in the 10 United States, the number of law enforcement and 11 first responder agencies entering data into nation- 12 wide overdose mapping applications to track real- 13 time suspected overdoses, including methamphet- 14 amine overdoses, has increased. 15 (11) In the first 9 months of fiscal year 2020, 16 there was a 52 percent increase in the amount of 17 methamphetamine seized by U.S. Customs and Bor- 18 der Protection. 19 (12) Public reports indicate that Mexican car- 20 tels may be stockpiling money and illicit drugs, in- 21 cluding methamphetamine, on both sides of the 22 Southwest Border and that the Drug Enforcement 23 Administration is preparing to respond to any poten- 24 tial surge in supply. 25 5 † S 4612 ES (13) Intentional preparation to counter any 1 surges in production, distribution, and use are essen- 2 tial in lowering methamphetamine-related overdose 3 deaths and substance use disorders. 4 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF EMERGING THREAT. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress declares methamphet- 6 amine an emerging drug threat, as defined in section 702 7 of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthor- 8 ization Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1701), in the United 9 States. 10 (b) REQUIRED EMERGING THREAT RESPONSE 11 PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact- 12 ment of this Act, the Director of the Office of National 13 Drug Control Policy shall establish and implement an 14 Emerging Threat Response Plan that is specific to meth- 15 amphetamine in accordance with section 709(d) of the Of- 16 fice of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act 17 of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1708(d)). 18 Passed the Senate November 16, 2020. Attest: Secretary. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4612 AN ACT To designate methamphetamine as an emerging threat, and for other purposes.