METH-LAB LAWS CALLED TOO WEAK

Effect On Children Worries Officials

CHARLOTTE -- People who operate methamphetamine labs, especially in
households with children, should get tougher punishment than state law
now allows, justice officials say. State Attorney General Roy Cooper
and Van Shaw Jr., an agent with the State Bureau of Investigation in
Charlotte, lobbied the N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission
on Friday for tougher penalties for manufacturing meth, including
longer prison sentences.

They also sought a separate felony child-endangerment charge for
making meth in the presence of minors.

Someone charged with manufacturing or selling the drug could face
between seven and 23 years in jail, depending on the amount of the
drug. Most first-time offenders receive probation, Shaw said.

Prosecutors can't apply North Carolina's child-endangerment laws in
meth cases because the laws don't address drug manufacturing, he said.

If illegal drugs are made in a home with children present, the parents
can now be charged with neglect, said Jo Ann Lamm, program
administrator for the state's Division of Family Support and Child
Welfare Services.

The Department of Social Services can file abuse charges if a child
suffers chemical burns or is hurt during an explosion or fire, said
Karen George, executive director of the N.C. Association of County
Directors of Social Services.

Volatile chemicals used in making meth can easily explode, and the
vapors they give off can cause serious respiratory ailments. At least
74 North Carolina children this year have been found in homes with
meth labs, and many of them have tested positive for exposure to the
drug, Shaw said.