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Jeff Merkley on DrugsDemocratic Senate Challenger; member of State House |
Right now in Oregon, meth is threatening our communities and casting a cloud upon the future of our state. To take it on we need to increase federal resources to prosecute meth producers. I’ll fight in Washington to add more federal prosecutors in Oregon and increase the capability of the Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate and arrest drug dealers.
We have to step up enforcement, but locking up drug dealers and shutting down meth labs is only part of the puzzle. I’ll also push for investment in proven meth drug treatment programs at the local, state and federal levels and strengthen sentences for property crime and identify theft.
Merkley hopes his crime-fighting proposals will respond to voter concerns about high levels of methamphetamine use and cuts to law enforcement in many Oregon communities.
Merkley wants the federal government to pay the costs of adding another 50,000 local police officers around the country, as well as additional prosecutors and resources for crime labs. He would also toughen laws against meth traffickers, toughen reporting requirements for sex offenders and expand federal laws against child pornography.