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which Cooper called "outdated."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.