Pubdate: Fri, 04 Aug 2006 Source: Charlotte Observer (NC) Copyright: 2006 The Charlotte Observer Contact: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78 Author: Mike Torralba Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John) METH FIGHT CENTER STAGE DURING TALKS As Western North Carolina's methamphetamine problem evolves, so, too, must methods of combating it, officials say. President Bush's top drug-policy adviser met with some of the region's sheriffs this week to trade ideas on fighting the meth problem. The conclave of a half-dozen county sheriffs, federal "drug czar" John Walters and U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., issued no concrete proposals. But several ideas received their support. Some were standard fare, such as continuing drug-resistance education for students. One possibility, raised by Walters, was more unconventional: random student drug-testing. McHenry, who represents the 10th District, said any drug-testing proposal would have to be "county-driven, not a federal mandate." Faye Higgins, chairwoman of the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners, was present during the closed-door meeting. She said she supported the idea of school drug-testing but said she was concerned about the cost of setting up a system and about privacy and parental-consent matters. She said it's "very unlikely" that such a proposal would come to the county commissioners any time soon. The meeting's participants also agreed that North Carolina's drug courts should be strengthened. Burke, Caldwell and Catawba counties have had the specialized courts for several years, and supporters tout them as an effective way of reducing court backlogs and getting repeat offenders off drugs. The state has some statewide rules and regulations for drug courts and is trying to establish more to unify the current patchwork of county drug courts, said Dick Ellis, a spokesman for the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. The sheriffs -- from Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Gaston, Mitchell and Rutherford counties -- also said they were concerned that the meth trade is becoming increasingly globalized. They say they're raiding fewer home meth labs but finding more of the drug imported from Mexico. Tougher state restrictions on meth's main ingredient have coincided with a dramatic decrease in the number of meth labs raided. So far this year, police have busted 152 labs in the state -- compared with 231 this time last year, according to the N.C. Department of Justice. Local law enforcement officials also credit more aggressive prosecution for the decrease. There is little national data to show how much meth is being smuggled from Mexico, but there is "wide consensus among law enforcement agencies that Mexican meth-production has increased significantly since 2002," according to a 2005 report from the U.S. Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center. For example, nearly all the meth seized in Caldwell County in the last year has been the more potent "ice" form of meth, typically manufactured in Mexico, said Sgt. Chris Hatton, head of the narcotics squad at the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office. The unit still shuts down the occasional, headline-making home meth lab. But Hatton's unit has seized only three this year; last year, there were six. Deputies are making smaller, but more frequent, arrests for possession and distribution, not manufacturing. "We don't find kilos and kilos," Hatton said. Walters, whose official title is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, agreed that imports of more potent meth is on the rise, but he said the federal government is working to secure the border. But despite intense public attention on illegal immigration, Congress adjourned for the summer without passing any border-security overhaul. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake