JACKSON COUNTY HOTBED FOR METH PRODUCTION

Cramer Seeks Money To Help Stop Second-worst Drug Problem In State

SCOTTSBORO - Except for Mobile County, more methamphetamine labs have been
found in Jackson County than anywhere else in Alabama, officials said Tuesday.

Because of the problem, U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer told state and local officials
Tuesday in Scottsboro he's seeking federal money to help local law
enforcement agencies.

''We're trying to educate Congress on the problems in rural areas,'' said
Cramer, D-Huntsville. ''We have an epidemic problem.''

Chief Investigator Chuck Phillips of the Sheriff's Department said
authorities found about 100 meth labs in the county last year. So far this
year, he said, the department has raided 39 laboratories and arrested 37
people.

''There's no telling how many more we're not finding,'' Phillips said. The
problem has become too big for the department to handle, he said.

Cramer said he's pushing four bills that would help law enforcement
agencies find meth labs and clean up the hazardous chemicals used to make
the drug.

Cleaning up such a lab requires people with special training and equipment
that costs at least $5,000 for each lab, officials said. One of the bills,
said Cramer, would provide money to train and equip officers to fight meth
labs.

The bills are in committee and Congress could act on them this year, said a
Cramer spokeswoman.