METH LAB NO WMD, JUDGE SAYS

BOONE -- The process of "cooking" methamphetamine does not create a weapon
of mass destruction, a Watauga County judge has ruled, throwing out 15
charges against at least 10 people. Superior Court Judge James Baker last
week dismissed charges of possessing, storing or manufacturing a weapon of
mass destruction against people accused of meth production.

District Attorney Jerry Wilson said he would appeal Baker's decision.

Eight of the accused, unable to make bail that went as high as $500,000,
sat in the courtroom and listened Friday as Baker went through the
indictments and dismissed the weapons of mass destruction charges in each
indictment.

Wilson has charged several Watauga County residents under the North
Carolina weapons of mass destruction statute because methamphetamine
"cooks" combine toxic and volatile chemicals to produce the illegal drug.
The combination of the chemicals creates a number of substances that pose a
chemical threat to neighbors, law enforcement personnel, emergency
personnel and firefighters.

In addition to the charges that Baker dismissed, most of the accused also
face charges of manufacture, possession, sale or delivery of
methamphetamine or possession of the precursor chemicals for meth.

In a September interview, state Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to
comment on Wilson's tactics or the use of the weapons of mass destruction
statute for drug manufacturing.

"It's a reflection of the frustration that law enforcement and prosecutors
feel about being overwhelmed by this problem of secret drug labs and not
being given the resources and the appropriate sentencing for this type of
activity," he said.