Pubdate: Sat, 09 Feb 2002
Source: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (MS)
Copyright: 2002 Journal Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.djournal.com/djournal/site/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/823
Author: Bobby Harrison, Daily Journal Jackson

CRYSTAL METH BILL PASSES THE HOUSE

Manufacturing Of Drug With Children Near Could Result In Enhanced Penalties 
Under House Bill.

JACKSON - Mississippi would be the first state in the country to subject 
people convicted of breaking the crystal methamphetamine laws in the 
presence of children to enhanced penalties.

Crystal methamphetamine is a strong stimulant that has become popular 
because it is relatively inexpensive to make with ingredients bought at 
drug stores and even at agriculture supply stores. The drug has become 
particularly popular among rural whites, according to a recent article in 
the New York Times.

"I would call it the Number 1 drug problem in rural America,'' Asa 
Hutchinson, administrator of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, 
said in the New York Times article.

Mississippi Rep. Jay Eads, D-Oxford, said the enhanced penalties are needed 
because children were present at 90 percent of the crystal methamphetamine 
labs discovered in the state this past year.

"Typically the parent involved in this is in the 18- to 35-year-old age 
range,'' Eads said. "So you are dealing with very young children being 
around while this is prepared on the kitchen stove. The children could be 
in close proximity, maybe getting something out of the refrigerator.''

Eads said this is particularly troublesome because 13 labs were discovered 
in Mississippi in 2001 when they exploded. Plus, the fumes associated with 
the making of the drug could be damaging to children, causing more ills the 
state might have to treat at a later date.

Under Eads' bill, which passed the House Friday, a person arrested on 
crystal meth charges with children present could be subject to double 
penalties. For instance, a person charged with the manufacturer of the drug 
already could be subject to a maximum prison term of 30 years. That could 
be doubled if Eads' bill becomes law. A person who steals or purchases the 
chemical needed to make the drug could face five years in prison under 
current law.

"To me we would be establishing the standards for the rest of the nation 
with this bill,'' Eads said. Several years ago numerous states, including 
Mississippi, passed legislation to enhance penalties for the sale of drugs 
near schools.

The bill will not be considered by the Senate.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics investigated 687 crystal meth cases in 
2001.
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