OFFICIALS SAY NEW LAW LEADS TO DROP IN METH LABS IN N.C

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The number of methamphetamine labs busted by police
in North Carolina dropped by a third in the first three months of
2006, a decline officials credited Monday to a new state law that
restricts the sale of cold medicines used to make the highly addictive drug.

Authorities discovered 62 meth labs between Jan. 15, when the law
took effect, and the end of March, compared with 91 labs in the same
period of 2005, said Attorney General Roy Cooper.

"We still have them with us, but this new law appears to be working
because it's much more difficult for criminals to get the main
ingredients to make meth," Cooper said. "We were hoping to see quick
results and we're seeing results."

In March alone, police raided 14 labs in 2006, compared with 40 labs
found last year, he said.

The new law requires anyone who buys cold tablets containing
pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, such as Sudafed, to show a photo ID at
a store counter and sign a log. Most liquid, gel-capsule and
children's forms of the medicines, which are not generally used to
make the drug, remain freely available on retail store shelves.

Last year, Oklahoma became the first state to restrict consumers'
ability to purchase products containing pseudoephedrine, limiting
their sale to pharmacies. Raids of meth labs there have since
plunged, and several other states, including Tennessee, Iowa,
Minnesota, Missouri and Oregon, have passed similar restrictions.

"We're the first state on the East Coast to do this and it's already
showing immediate, positive results," Cooper said.

Production of meth began in western states and has been spreading
east for years. North Carolina's foothill and mountain counties have
been particularly besieged by the trade. Nine meth labs were found in
North Carolina in 1999. Four years later the number had climbed to
177 labs, then almost doubled to 322 in 2004. There were 328 labs
found in 2005.

Still, law enforcement officials say a drop in labs doesn't translate
into a drop in the use of meth. Trafficking from other states and
Mexico remains a problem.

"We haven't seen any labs this year so far," said Lt. Steve Carter,
who oversees the narcotics unit with the Henderson County sheriff's
department. "The stuff we're getting in is from super labs, it's not
these mom and pop labs around here."

Cooper said fewer labs means law officers will have more time to
devote to busting traffickers.