STOPPING METHAMPHETAMINES STATE'S NEWEST DRUG WAR

New Law Sets Tough Penalties For Meth Production

We're all aware of the devastating impact of drugs on our society, our
communities and our people.

Our work to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, that impact demands strong
cooperation between local, state and federal agencies. It also requires a
renewed sense of direction from adults to our children.

This past week, Asa Hutchinson, head of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, was in Jackson to discuss a new program aimed specifically
at curbing the production, sale and abuse of methamphetamine in Mississippi.

This drug is unlike many others on the streets today. With street names
like meth, speed, ice, chalk, crank, fire, glass and crystal,
methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant. It increases the heart rate and
blood pressure. It damages brain cells. It spurs behavior that can be
violent and out-of-control.

The words of those who have taken meth relate the horror: "While I write
this now, I'm seeing mild visual distortions. Blurryness, slight double
vision, sparkles in my peripherals. It's been only 29 hours since I last
had real sleep."

Or this story: "I saw my eyes so wide, dilated pupils, like on acid, my
skin was so deathly pale I wondered where all my blood went."

These two stories barely begin to relate the thousands of tragedies that
happen every day.

Part of the challenge in dealing with a drug like methamphetamine is that
the source is not a South American drug lord, but often someone from within
the community. It is easily produced and, more often than not, is sold
between friends and social connections.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, along with the Mississippi Department
of Public Safety, has worked closely with local and federal law enforcement
agencies to address the problems of methamphetamine.

We are making strong progress. In 2001, we seized 201 meth labs around the
state - an increase of more than 75 percent over the previous year.

During the 2002 legislative session, I signed a new law into effect that
increased the penalties for the manufacture of methamphetamine, especially
in cases where children were present. On a national level, 20 percent of
meth labs are operated in the presence of children.

We simply can't allow that to happen here. The new law sets a maximum of 30
years' imprisonment for violators, with financial penalties ranging from
$5,000 to $1 million. If violators are caught in the presence of children
below the age of 18, the penalties can be doubled.

The scourge of drugs in our communities can be stopped, but it will take a
committed and cooperative effort at all levels.

There is just too much at stake here. Our people - our children - have too
much promise and potential for it to be wasted through the use of meth or
any other drug.