“We are pleased that meth lab seizures have dropped significantly in the last year. The hard work of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation should be commended, as well as Governor Sebelius and the Kansas Legislature for passing the Matt Samuel’s Act to keep Kansas communities safe.
“Despite this great accomplishment, there is still much work to be done to stop the importation and manufacturing of meth and the damage it does to our communities. We cracked down on one source of meth, but we can’t ignore the other sources. For the sake of Kansas families and children, we must put a stop to the production, importation and addiction of meth.”
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** Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Larry Welch announced today that Kansas law enforcement seized 168 meth labs last year across the state, in the first full year of effect of the Sheriff Matt Samuels Chemical Control Act passed by the Kansas Legislature in 2005.
The 168 seizures represent a dramatic 80 percent reduction from the peak year of meth lab seizures in Kansas in 2001 (846) and a 73 percent reduction in meth lab seizures in the state from 2004 (630), the last year before passage of the Matt Samuels Act.
The Matt Samuels Act restricts public access to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (precursors in the manufacture of methamphetamine) which are found in common over-the-counter cold and asthma tablet-form medicines.