SENATE OKS ANTI-METH BILL

Winner-Sponsored Bill Makes It Easier To Prosecute Suspected Drug Makers.

ALBANY - The state's efforts to control the spread methamphetamine got a
boost Tuesday when the Senate passed a pair of bills to toughen penalties
for its manufacture.

"New York has ... a welcome sign for the producers of methamphetamine,"
since its penalties are less strict than Pennsylvania, said Sen. George H.
Winner Jr., R-Elmira. "We need this legislation to control this scourge."

Winner's legislation, which was one of two bills approved Tuesday, makes it
easier to prosecute meth lab operations and creates a new felony from the
criminal manufacture of meth in or near a home.

"This has become almost an epidemic since 1999," said Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County. "People go to the
easiest place to manufacture this. We've got to do something about it."

The measures haven't been acted on by the Assembly, however, although a
spokeswoman said other bills to control the drug will be considered as
early as next week.

While only three meth labs were discovered in the state between 1989 and
1999, 193 were broken up between 1999 and 2004, according to a report from
the State Investigations Commission. Fifty-three of those labs were located
in Chemung and Tioga counties.

Winner said the Southern Tier became more attractive to the criminals after
Pennsylvania enacted stricter penalties for manufacturing the drug last year.

Those steps were taken in the wake of the killing of two Bradford County
sheriff's deputies, Christopher M. Burgert and Michael A. VanKuren, when
they tried to serve a warrant on suspect drug manufacturers in Wells
Township on March 31, 2004.

Rural areas are attractive to the criminals because one of the major
ingredients of the drug, anhydrous ammonia, is also used as a fertilizer,
especially on corn fields, and can be stolen relatively easily. Common
household items such as cold medication, drain cleaner, starter fluid and
battery acid are also used.

The drug, also known as speed, crank and ice, produces a high that lasts as
long a 24 hours. It can be smoked, snorted or swallowed. It can be fatal.

"This appears to be the drug of choice," Bruno said. "It delivers a bigger
hit for less money."

Winner's bill passed 58-0. A bill sponsored by Sen. Michael Nozzolio,
R-Fayette, Seneca County, to increase penalties for people who operate a
meth laboratory passed 57-1.

The Assembly Democrats will introduce their own package of anti-meth bills
next week, said Sisa Moyo, a spokeswoman for Speaker Sheldon Silver,
D-Manhattan, and will then try to reach a deal with the Senate on bills
that houses.

"We completely agree that comprehensive legislation on methamphetamine labs
and to combat meth abuse should be enacted this session," she said.