AUGUSTA, Maine - A measure that would make possession of the ingredients and equipment to make methamphetamine a crime, separate from use and possession of the drug, drew broad support from law enforcement at a public hearing in Augusta.
Aroostook County District Attorney Todd Collins told members of the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee that meth labs have become a serious public safety problem in rural Maine.
"We have been involved in investigations and prosecutions of clandestine methamphetamine labs by the shake-and-bake method - that one-pot method described by others - that have actually erupted and caused fires or explosions about six times," Collins told lawmakers.
Opponents, though, said that the bill will not solve the problem. What would help, they argued, is more emphasis on prevention and treatment programs.
"For many years we have been very concerned that Maine's valuable resources continue to be spent on enforcement, to the detriment of treatment and Mainers suffering from addiction," said Oamshri Amarasngham, of the ACLU of Maine. "In that context we oppose this bill, which will further entrench the cycle of incarceration and drug use."
the cycle of incarceration and drug use."
