ENZI ADDS SUPPORT FOR TOUGHER ANTI-METHAMPHETAMINE LAW

WASHINGTON Feb. 26 (States) -- U.S. Sen. Michael. B. Enzi on Friday
endorsed a bill that would require longer prison sentences for people
convicted of making or selling methamphetamine, an illegal drug that is
popular among young people in Wyoming.

State officials are worried that trafficking in methamphetamine, an
addictive synthetic stimulant, has skyrocketed in Wyoming during the past
decade. The Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation reports that
investigations of the drug have increased by more than 600 percent since
1992, and Wyoming eighth graders are more likely to use the drug than
twelfth graders in most other states.

Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, agreed to co-sponsor a bill that would increase
prison sentences for some methamphetamine dealers by 10 months. The bill
also would direct the Drug Enforcement Agency to give local law enforcement
officials more money for training in ways to control the drug.

The bill would give priority to "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas"
designated by the DEA. In Wyoming, Albany, Sweetwater, Laramie and Natrona
counties have that designation.

"Drugs are the root of many problems branching out in our society," Enzi
said. "Children and their parents have the real power to stop the problem,
but there are a few things I can do as a lawmaker to aid in the fight. This
bill gives us more resources to combat an ever-growing enemy."

Sometimes called "crank" or "ice," methamphetamine has been linked to
personality disorders and kidney and lung problems.

By Charles Davant