STATE REPRESENTATIVE WANTS TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT METH PRODUCTION

TYLER - Even though state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, was pleased to be
honored by federal officials Thursday for his fight against illegal
drugs, he said there is still more work to be done.

As part of National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, Berman was
presented with a resolution in Tyler by U.S. Attorney Matthew D.
Orwig, recognizing his contribution to fighting the production of meth
in East Texas.

Berman co-authored and introduced Texas House Bill 164 in 2004, which
led to the 2005 law that medications containing pseudoephedrine must
be kept behind the counter at pharmacies.

PSE is a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold medication and is
also used to manufacture illegal methamphetamine.

The law also requires that customers are allowed to purchase only two
packages of PSE products at a time, and that customer identities are
recorded.

Berman wants to take the law one step further, which could make
investigations into meth manufacturing more efficient and effective,
he said.

"I'd like to go to electronic filing of pseudoephedrine purchases so
that law enforcement officials statewide can see records on a Web
site," Berman said.

He said he would then like to tackle the problem of meth traffickers
coming into Texas from Mexico, with additional manpower and tools -
including high-powered weapons - to city, county and state law
enforcement agencies near the border.

"We've eliminated many of the meth labs here (in Texas), but refined
meth crack is being manufactured in Mexico and being brought to Texas
ready to sell," Berman said. "The Mexican drug cartels are using
high-powered weapons, and we should do anything we can to help put a
stop to the meth traffic."

While federal law enforcement officials did not address Mexican meth
labs Thursday, they touted that the number of clandestine meth labs
seized in East Texas was reduced from 13 in federal fiscal year 2006
to one so far in the 2007 fiscal year.

The federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 the following
year.

"And we only found it Tuesday night in Upshur County," DEA agent
Richard Sanders said, declining to give more details.

Statewide, the number of meth lab seizures declined by 62 percent
during the seven months after Aug. 1, 2005, when Berman's bill became
law, according to a report released Thursday by the White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy.

The same period one year earlier yielded 285 seizures.

Additionally, workplace drug testing results showed a 14.8 percent
decrease in positive tests for amphetamine during the first five
months in 2006, compared to the same period a year earlier, the report
showed.

National Methamphetamine Awareness Day was sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Justice to generate awareness about the effects of meth
abuse on people, families and communities.

"Almost every drug case these days has a meth connection. I'm just
amazed at how prevalent it is," said Alan R. Jackson, assistant U.S.
attorney. "Meth is just killing those people."