Tester, Daines Amendment Would Invest $13 Million in Local Efforts to Combat Meth Epidemic

U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines this week attached a bipartisan amendment to the 2020 partial government spending package that would boost funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Anti-Methamphetamine Program to $13 million, up from $8 million last year.

“Our local law enforcement agencies are fighting back against Montana’s meth epidemic every day, and we need to give them more tools to get the job done,” said Tester. “This funding will help the folks on the front lines stop the flow of meth into our communities and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

“Montana families and communities are being devastated by the ongoing meth epidemic,” Daines said. “This bipartisan amendment gets our law enforcement professionals the resources and tools they need to protect our communities and ensure the safety and health of all Montanans.”

The COPS Anti-Meth Task Forces program provides grants directly to local law enforcement agencies in states on the front line of the methamphetamine epidemic. These investments help agencies investigate meth labs, bring traffickers to justice, and interdict meth and the chemicals used to make it.

The Montana Department of Justice received a $946,981 Anti-Meth Task Forces award in 2018.