METH BILL AIMS TO HELP CHILDREN

FOREST CITY -- A law enforcement bill passed in the U.S. House Wednesday
contains a provision for doubling prison sentences for offenders convicted
of manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of children.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-Cherryville, introduced the measure as a
provision in House of Representatives.

The provision doubles the prison sentence from 10 to 20 years for offenders
caught manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of children.

"My meth bill comes as the result of meeting with local sheriffs and drug
enforcement officials in February to discuss solutions to the meth
problem," stated McHenry in a release. "Studies have shown that children
who are exposed to meth labs can suffer permanent physical damage -- this
must be stopped."

McHenry serves as vice chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee
on Justice and Drug Policy. He has taken the problems associated with meth
very seriously, and worked with law enforcement officials and members of
Congress to develop plans to battle the epidemic.

Last year, more than 2,700 children were found in meth labs seized by law
enforcement officials. More than 25 children have been removed from homes
with meth labs in Rutherford County this year.

"Children are the silent victims of our nation's meth epidemic," said
McHenry. "This provision toughens the law against some of our nation's
worst criminals, the offenders who make this drug around children. I am
going on the offensive against meth's hold in our region because our
communities deserve to be safe, healthy, and secure."

Meth is often produced in small labs by uneducated addicts who use simple
ingredients found in various retail stores including items like
pseudoephedrine cold tablets, coffee filters, matchbooks, lye, iodine, rock
salt and paint thinner.

Over the past several years, with production and consumption of meth on the
rise in Western North Carolina, officials at every level have been working
to get a handle on the problem.

Officials have been laboring to bust more labs, make more arrests, inform
the public and increase penalties for meth convictions.

A sharp increase in the abuse of the drug has members of the community very
concerned about safety and domestic issues.

Methamphetamine is a central nervous stimulate that is made from ephedrine
or pseudoephedrine. It is stronger and lasts longer than cocaine or crack.

The drug is highly addictive and can be obtained very easily because a lot
of people make it for themselves.

Meth is made in secret, usually makeshift laboratories that may be found in
ordinary kitchens, bathrooms, basements or sheds. The process for making,
or cooking, meth is not difficult to learn, so uneducated drug dealers can
make the drug without any scientific training.

The most common products associated with production of methamphetamine can
be purchased at almost any convenience, drug, or department store.

These items include; lye, matchbooks, Iodine, pseudoephedrine cold
medicine, spatulas, electric skillets, coffee pots, paint thinner, Epson
salt, and lighter fluid among others.

The cook takes the chemicals and alters them in a way that changes the
pseudoephedrine into meth through a chemical reaction process that can be
very dangerous.

The process can cause fires and very harmful chemical vapors.

Dangerous gases and chemicals released in the process include; phosphine
gas, hydrogen chloride gas, Anhydrous Ammonia, Iodine, acids, Red
Phosphorus, and organic solvents.

A matchbook striker plate contains red phosphorous. The cook dips the
striker plate in alcohol or some other solvent and runs the product through
a coffee filter to get the red phosphorous. This entire process is very
dangerous as red phosphorus is highly flammable and can ignite with only
slight contact.

A drug addict who manufactures their own drugs is more inconspicuous than
one who has to buy them on the street. Officials say this is an entirely
different kind of criminal than police are used to dealing with and the
dangers that children face as a result of being in the presence of these
labs continue to concern officials.