Methamphetamine penalties

Different penalties apply for cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine, PCP, flunitrazepam, marijuana, and hashish ... 

The Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 attempts to deal with the proliferation of meth labs since the 1990s. Chemicals used in producing methamphetamines are more tightly controlled and penalties for illicit production of both precursor chemicals and the drugs themselves are increased. 

United States Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act increases penalties for the manufacture, distribution, and possession of methamphetamine, as well as the reagents and chemicals needed to make it. 

United States Speed Trafficking Life in Prison Act increases penalties for the production, distribution, and use of methamphetamine. 

Penalties for possession of Schedule I and II drugs (methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, PCP, LSD, and marijuana among others) are far more severe than are the penalties for possession of Schedule III drugs, but they should not be dismissed entirely. Federal sentencing guidelines for possession of ketamine, regardless of the quantity, stipulate prison terms of not more than five years and individual fines of not more than 250,000. Second time offenders will almost certainly earn jail time, with a sentence determined by the judge but not to exceed 10 years. The fine is also doubled, to 500,000. 

In 1999, the DEFEAT Methamphetamine Bill authorized 30 million for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to develop a comprehensive, nationwide plan to target and control methamphetamine. It also added 25 million for methamphetamine prevention efforts, especially in rural and urban areas hard hit by methamphetamine use. This bill also added to the list of chemicals considered precursors to methamphetamine production that could result in criminal penalties. In the same year, the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Abuse Reduction Bill authorized more federal money for methamphetamine treatment and prevention programs, as well as targeting federal resources to high-use methamphetamine areas. 

On October 3, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 (MCA). The MCA broadens controls on listed chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine, increases penalties for the trafficking and manufacture of methamphetamine and listed chemicals, and expands controls to include the distribution of lawfully marketed drug products which contain the listed chemicals ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenyl-propanolamine (PPA). 

Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, which went into effect on 9 March 2006, imposes nationwide minimum requirements on the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The new legislation does not preempt laws that restrict pseudoephedrine, which many states have already adopted. The Act, inter alia, establishes federal restrictions on retail sales by requiring ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products to be kept behind the counter or in a locked case toughens penalties against methamphetamine traffickers holds importers and exporters of precursor chemicals accountable if their product is diverted for illicit use and imposes on manufacturers quotas for the production and import of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. 

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