MORE HELP NEEDED

The message Friday was unified and clear at a congressional field hearing
on methamphetamine: To combat methamphetamine, more federal resources must
be dedicated locally to the fight. That means money and manpower.

U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-3rd District, presided over the hearing, the
first of its kind for the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime.
It was held at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The 2 1/2 hour field hearing was an information-gathering session for the
subcommittee's upcoming hearing on the proposed Methamphetamine
Anti-Proliferation Act, House Bill 2987. The measure is co-sponsored by
Hutchinson and is expected to be brought to the House floor in the next few
months.

The Congressional Subcommittee on Crime is in the process of reviewing the
proposal.

The bill in part restricts the advertisement of drug paraphernalia, makes
drug producers financially responsible for the cleanup costs of meth labs,
prohibits the passage of information on how to manufacture controlled
substances and dedicates millions of dollars specifically to areas of high
drug trafficking. Also included in the bill are more strict punishment
levels and treatment requirements related to methamphetamine.

Joining Hutchinson at the hearing Friday were fellow subcommittee members,
Reps. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, and William L. Jenkins, R-Tenn. The congressmen
listened to testimony from 12 witnesses, ranging from recovering addicts to
federal, state and local law-enforcement officials.

The testimony carried a common theme - more resources are needed to
successfully fight methamphetamine than local and state agencies can
provide without federal support.

Summing up his testimony before the subcommittee, Rogers Police Chief Tim
Keck said, "Obviously, the point is, we're out of cops and money and need
help."

Keck's statement echoed several before him, including that of Jenkins, who
said in his opening statements, "I know as a nation we're going to need new
tools to combat its use, and hopefully that is what we're working on today."

A second common notion also was repeated from more than three of the
witnesses, following the statement of Jim Clark, director of the Arkansas
State Crime Laboratory, "We cannot incarcerate our way out of this problem."

Methamphetamine use has been growing exponentially in the last five year in
rural areas nationwide. That growth is no more evident than in Arkansas,
Hutchinson said.

"The state of Arkansas was recently declared to have the highest number of
meth lab seizures per capita in the nation. Arkansas has become a
crossroads for meth production and trafficking, making meth one of the top
law-enforcement problems in the state," he said.

According to testimony from Col. Tom Mars, director of the Arkansas State
Police, two clandestine methamphetamine labs were seized in 1991. In 1999,
554 labs were seized.

If the current trend continues, according to Clark, more than 800
methamphetamine labs could be seized this year. From Jan. 1 through Feb.
23, 122 labs had been seized in the state. That is more than two labs a day.

With each seizure of a lab comes danger to the officers involved, according
to Mars. Methamphetamine has proven time and again to contribute to violent
behavior fueled by paranoia, according to Mars.

"Methamphetamine, it is growing like a fast-moving cancer," he said.

Kelly Eales, widow of Oklahoma State Trooper Rocky Eales, who was shot last
year when attempting to serve a warrant at a methamphetamine-producing
home, testified.

"Law enforcement needs the equipment. They're out there to protect against
meth, but, unless given the proper equipment, they'll be like Rocky and not
come back," she said.

In addition to the proposed legislation, another way to help the fight
against methamphetamine would be national recognition as a high-traffic
area, Clark said.

Clark said Gov. Mike Huckabee is looking into having Arkansas declared a
high-intensity drug trafficking area. Areas with that distinction have
access to significantly more federal funds, he said.

Several proposals brought before the subcommittee offered alternate
measures in the methamphetamine fight.

Blaine Hajok, with Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said his company
has placed limits on the amount of ephedrine-based over-the-counter
medicines individuals can purchase at one time. Ephedrine is a major
component in one of several methamphetamine recipes.

On another point, William Ashcraft, an abuse counselor for Pinnacle Pointe
Hospital in Little Rock, and recovering addict Cindy McCoy offered similar
options for addressing methamphetamine - treatment.

"Drug addicts are not necessarily bad people," McCoy said, "but sick people."