The most deadly recreational drug has become the most popular, in Monterey County and everywhere.

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Last July 25, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation, nicknamed the Anti-Meth Bill, which would strengthen penalties for the manufacturing and sale of methamphetamine, and provide funding to help clean up meth labs and fund prevention and treatment.

Yet despite the fact that the Anti-Meth Bill has been fast-tracked, Republican and Democrat members of Congress are growing increasingly outspoken about what they see as the Bush administration’s slow response to the meth epidemic, according to an Oct. 2 article in the Christian Science Monitor.

Among other things, the members of Congress criticize the administration’s decision to end the $804 million Justice Assistance Program, which funds regional drug task forces.

Perhaps the most vocal critic of the administration’s stance on meth is Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman of the House drug policy subcommittee who has called for the resignation of White House “drug czar” John Walters and called some of the White House data on meth labs and users “laughable.”