POLICE APPLAUD PROPOSED INCREASE IN METH PENALTIES

Fullerton and La Habra officials say the would welcome stiffer federal
sentences for using and making the drug.

Methamphetamine dealers in Fullerton and La Habra may face stiffer
penalties and longer jail terms if a measure passed by the U.S. Senate last
week is signed into law.

La Habra and Fullerton police have a keen interest in the federal
amendment, because the majority of drug-related arrests in the two cities
involve methamphetamine, authorities said.

In the last six months, La Habra police made 174 drug-related arrests, La
Habra Police Sgt. Phil Stufflebean said. Of the 133 arrests involving
possession and sale of illegal drugs, 80% were for methamphetamine, he said.

"For the past three or four years, methamphetamine use appears on the
increase and appears to be the most popular drug," Stufflebean said.

The Fullerton Police Department combines its numbers on methamphetamine
arrests with that of amphetamine, which is chemically related but has a
slightly weaker effect on the central nervous system.

Between 1994 and 1997, the number of people arrested in Fullerton for
possession of amphetamines and methamphetamine more than doubled, from 124
to 325. Last year, the number dropped to 185.

The Senate measure was presented as an amendment to federal sentencing
guidelines for making and selling illicit drugs, including methamphetamine.
It was attached to the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999, which has yet to be
approved.

The Senate is scheduled to discuss the issue this week before they vote on
it and send it to the House for approval. It would then need President
Clinton's signature to become law.

"Unless the federal government intervenes in the prosecution of drug
pushers, the measure will not directly affect state laws against
offenders," said Jeffrey Ferguson, Orange County senior deputy district
attorney in the narcotics unit.

But Ferguson said that if the amendment becomes law, there will be an
increase in the prosecution of state offenders at the federal level.
"Whenever the federal government takes a strong interest in a particular
area of enforcement, there would be more federal cases for the
manufacturing of methamphetamine," Ferguson said. The manufacturing and use
of methamphetamine is a growing problem in both La Habra and Fullerton.

"In La Habra, in the past two years, we have found eight laboratories of
people that are manufacturing in their garages, homes or apartments,"
Stufflebean said.

One reason for methamphetamine's surging popularity is that it is less
expensive than other drugs, such as cocaine, Stufflebean said. "It is very
easy to make, it is very easy to obtain, and drug choices tend to go in
cycles," said Fullerton Police Sgt. Joe Klein, who is chairman of the
California Narcotic Assn. for Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

"Speed, as methamphetamine is known, was very popular in the '60s, but it
went away in the 70s and now we are seeing it come back." A major problem
associated with methamphetamine that distinguishes it from other drugs is
that it's a fire hazard. "It is a made with very volatile ingredients,"
Stufflebean said. "They have to be heated and mixed, and unless a person
really knows what they are doing, there is a high potential for an
explosion or fire." Ferguson said an increase in federal prosecutions will
help curb the proliferation of methamphetamine labs.

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, authorizes the creation of
satellite offices and the hiring of additional federal agents to assist
state and local law enforcement officials. It also increases penalties for
the distribution of methamphetamine to minors and school environments.

"We are very supportive of legislation which adds higher sanctions and
penalties for methamphetamine," Klein said.