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 This includes help replacing North Carolina's fingerprinting system, which Cooper called "outdated."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. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman