Politics & Power Quote by Rick Larsen

Calling it the “Meth Caucus” is a piece of accidental branding so blunt it borders on parody: a Washington habit of slapping a dire problem into a neat, committee-shaped noun and hoping the label does half the work. Rick Larsen’s line is doing something more tactical than alarm-raising. It’s a pressure memo in public, naming a bureaucratic target (the Office of National Drug Control Policy) and documenting a record of being ignored. The point isn’t merely that meth is bad; it’s that the federal apparatus has treated meth as background noise, a regional nuisance, or a subcategory of “drugs” rather than a crisis with its own logic.

The phrase “engage” is classic Hill-speak, a diplomatic verb that masks friction. Translation: we’ve been knocking, they haven’t been answering. “Tried to get their attention” makes the neglect explicit, framing ONDCP as distracted, perhaps captured by other priorities: opioids, fentanyl, election-year talking points, or the comfort of programs that are already funded. Larsen is also signaling to constituents and local law enforcement that he’s pushing the people with the money and the megaphone.

Then comes the real ask, wrapped in the language of competence: “a strong, comprehensive Federal policy.” Comprehensive is doing a lot of work. It implies meth is not just a policing issue but a supply-chain, public health, housing, and treatment issue - a crisis that doesn’t fit neatly into one agency’s lane. In a political culture that rewards symbolic action, Larsen is arguing for coordination, which is harder, less photogenic, and therefore easier to avoid.