SHERIFF GOES TO CAPITOL TO TESTIFY

State lawmakers have an opportunity to drastically attack a statewide
trend that Faulkner County Sheriff Marty Montgomery considers one of
the deadliest trends -- the manufacture and use of crystal
methamphetamine.

"Crystal methamphetamine has replaced marijuana as the drug of choice
... and the manufacturing of crystal meth is extremely, extremely
dangerous," Montgomery said.

For this reason, Montgomery visited the State Capitol on Monday to
testify before the House Judiciary Committee in support of tougher
penalties for crystal methamphetamine manufacturers.

The legislation proposes that a first-time offender who uses or
possesses drug paraphernalia to manufacture methamphetamine be found
guilty of an unclassified felony punishable by a mandatory jail
sentence of 10 years and a fine of $50,000. Second-time offenders
would spend 25 years without parole in prison and pay a fine of
$100,000 while third-time offenders would receive a mandatory life
sentence without parole.

"This is an extremely strong and harsh bill ... but this is an avenue
to get these people off the streets," Montgomery said.

According to the sheriff, the manufacturing of crystal methamphetamine
has opened the floodgates to numerous concerns that affect the
Faulkner County community and the local law enforcement officers.
First, the chemicals used to manufacture crystal methamphetamine are
extremely dangerous and in many cases toxic.

"The ingredients are probably some of the most volatile that exist,"
Montgomery explained. "Some of them, if you even breath them, they
could kill you."

The dangerous nature of methamphetamine labs has forced Montgomery to
"revamp" the sheriff's office's policies and training.

"We've got to have special training to deal with this problem," he
said. "If you kick open a door or discharge a firearm to protect
yourself inside one of these labs ... a spark could literally blow the
(structure) off the face of the Earth. This isn't fiction or
television, it's real and it's right here in Faulkner County."

Another problem with crystal methamphetamine is the large number of
crimes associated with the drug.

"Peripheral crimes are tremendous," he said. "Everything from
prostitution to shoplifting to burglary. ... The addiction is a
nightmare for local law enforcement."

After a record number 23 methamphetamine labs were discovered and shut
down in 1998, Faulkner County is already on pace to surpass the
numbers again. So far this year, 11 labs have been discovered.

Arkansas ranks second in the nation for states with the largest
crystal methamphetamine problems.