Pubdate: Sat, 12 Nov 2005
Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Copyright: 2005 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Contact: https://miva.nando.com/contact_us/letter_editor.html
Website: http://www.news-observer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304
Author: Associated Press

CONGRESS COULD AID METH FIGHT

AG's Key Areas: Policing And Sales

The top law officer in North Carolina says federal legislation 
pending in Congress could help the state combat the sale and use of 
methamphetamine, an illegal drug that has taken hold in rural America.

A proposal in Congress that would limit sales of cold medicines used 
to make the drug stalled Thursday after House and Senate negotiators 
couldn't iron out differences. A similar version could still be 
passed next week. "I think ... Congress could provide a great 
preventive measure for the East Coast," Attorney General Roy Cooper said.

The number of meth lab seizures in North Carolina has increased from 
nine in 1999 to 280 as of late October of this year. Most of those 
labs were in western North Carolina, reflecting the eastward push of 
the meth problem.

North Carolina lawmakers already have passed legislation limiting the 
sale of cold medicines such as Sudafed. The law, based on efforts in 
Oklahoma, will take effect Jan. 15.

Cooper thinks a comprehensive approach should require limits on 
sales, tougher penalties on meth lab operators and incentives for 
drug treatment. Congress also could help state and local police by 
providing money for basic law enforcement needs, Cooper said, such as 
crime-fighting equipment for investigators.

This includes help replacing North Carolina's fingerprinting system, 
which Cooper called "outdated."

Along with the limits on cold medicine sales, the federal measure 
would allow judges to impose stiffer penalties for possession of 
ingredients used to make meth. And it would authorize $99 million a 
year for meth lab cleanup and $40 million over two years for services 
for children affected by meth. The bipartisan 130-member Meth Caucus 
in the U.S. House is also calling for increased federal spending for 
programs that provide money to hire more police officers and pay for 
drug task forces.

Caucus members say the Bush administration has been slow to make 
anti-meth efforts a priority because it sees the drug problem as 
largely a regional and rural issue.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman