NEW LAW CRACKS DOWN ON METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Law enforcement gains a valuable tool in battling drugs
Tuesday, when a law designed to curb methamphetamine manufacturing takes
effect.

The law makes it a felony to steal, tamper with or improperly transport
anhydrous ammonia, a common fertilizer and an ingredient in the powerful
stimulant also known as meth speed and crank.

Although use of the drug has grown in many areas, rural Minnesota has
perhaps been hardest hit because anhydrous ammonia is readily available
there, often sitting unattended in storage tanks in farm fields before being
applied.

Wright County Sheriff Gary Miller said the growth in his south central
Minnesota county has been exponential and hopes the law will help officers
deal with existing cases and deter people from setting up new meth labs.

"It's an avenue of attack," he said.

Maximum penalties under the law beginning Aug. 1 will be up to five years in
prison and a $50,000 fine.

Currently, transporting anhydrous ammonia in an illegal container is a civil
problem dealt with under agriculture standards. That means police sometimes
have a difficult time prosecuting someone they catch with a propane tank or
cooler full.

The change in the law will allow arrest and prosecution without having to
prove conspiracy to manufacture.

"We're trying to come at it from all sides," Miller said. "They can make it
anywhere and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it. They're doing it
in fish houses. We've had 'em doing it in tree houses out here."

It's the fastest-growing drug problem in the area and the department's
number one focus, Miller said.

"It's a constant problem," he said. "It's occupying more and more of our
time."

During the second quarter of last year, Wright County had 27 arrests, 13 of
which were meth-related. The same quarter this year brought 42 arrests, 27
of which were for meth.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued an unusual chemical
safety alert, warning legitimate anhydrous ammonia users to beef up security
because theft-triggered chemical accidents are soaring. The corrosive
chemical can be fatal when inhaled and can cause severe burns to the skin
even in small amounts.

It can dry the skin, and contact with the eyes can cause blindness.

"It's dangerous," Miller said. "There can be a public health threat."

Wright County's experience is becoming the rule rather than the exception.

Overall in Minnesota, the number of meth labs busted has doubled each of the
last several years, said Michael Campion, director of the Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension.

"It's certainly not going to be the solution to the problem," Campion said
of the penalties. "But any law should have a deterrent effect."

State Sen. Linda Higgins has been pushing that and other meth-related
legislation for two years. She became involved after hearing Nebraska' s
attorney general speak about the problems there.

"She could scare the beejeebers out of you," said Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis.

After combing through Minnesota's statutes, Higgins and others targeted
three loopholes that needed to be closed:

* Making the theft and transport of anhydrous ammonia a felony.

* Making it illegal to booby trap a house or apartment where the drug is
being manufactured.

* Creating extra penalties for people who produce meth when a child is
present.

Higgins said she will continue her work to get the other two provisions
passed in upcoming legislative sessions. But this is a start, she said.

"It gives the officers a chance to stop people driving down the street with
a tank," she said. "It's liquid nitrogen is what it is, it's evil, nasty
stuff."