CUTBACKS COULD HURT ANTI-METH EFFORTS

A plan to cut money now provided for local drug enforcement efforts
has officials in Missouri and Kansas worried it could hamstring their
efforts to corral methamphetamine use.

The Bush administration wants to eliminate $634 million now provided
through the Byrne Grant program for drug task forces, and cut funding
for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, which targets
the most drug-infested areas, from $227 million to $100 million.

In the Ozarks this year, the Byrne program has provided almost
$800,000 to a variety of drug crimefighters:

$89,000 to Greene County's Drug Court to pay for case managers and
officers who make random, unannounced visits to program participants.

$324,000 to the Combined Ozarks Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement Team
to pay for officer salaries and operating costs for an anti-drug task
force that serves six counties.

$255,000 shared by the Southwest Missouri Drug Task Force, based in
Barry County, and the Barry County prosecuting attorney. The funds
will pay for a special prosecutor and the task force's efforts to
target the narcotics trade with an emphasis on meth and violent
crimes associated with drug activity.

$125,000 to the Jasper County Drug Task Force to pay for surveillance
and undercover methods to arrest and convict drug violators.

Bush's Office of National Drug Control Policy said the two programs
have drifted from their original intent of focusing on the worst
problems. Now, officials said, money from the programs goes to a wide
range of law enforcement efforts.