VILSACK UNVEILS HIS PLAN TO FIGHT METH PROBLEM

Tough sentences and better treatment are part of his $4 million
strategy.

Gov. Tom Vilsack on Wednesday unveiled a $4 million strategy to attack
Iowa's methamphetamine problem, calling for more drug agents, better
treatment programs, and an intense campaign to discourage children
from trying the highly addictive drug.

Vilsack also renewed his call to strengthen meth laws by creating life
prison sentences. While the idea has received considerable legislative
support, a Republican lawmaker Wednesday raised questions for the
first time about the plan.

The potential dispute comes in the fine print.

Vilsack's life imprisonment proposal includes two elements:
manufacturing and selling meth to minors.

Could Be Useless

Rep. Chuck Larson, the Cedar Rapids Republican who introduced a life
sentence bill in the House, said if Vilsack sticks with those two
elements, the proposal would essentially be useless in the courtroom.
Larson supports the life imprisonment bill, but said it's most
important that the law apply to those who sell to minors.

If the law applied only to those who both make and sell the drug,
"dealers will simply give it to other people to sell, and then they
wouldn't meet the standard," Larson said.

Authorities estimate that up to 90 percent of the state's
methamphetamine supply is smuggled into Iowa neighborhoods from
Mexico, California and other places. While the number of home meth
labs found in Iowa soared to more than 300 last year, they account for
only a small part of the state's problem.

Considering those statistics, Larson said, few people who sell the
drug to minors would qualify for the punishment of life in prison.

"I Can't Believe It"

"I can't believe that's what he's going to do," Larson said. "We're
trying to get more information from the governor's office . . . and
we're going to show him the respect he deserves until we see what his
proposal is."

Vilsack, who met with Larson and other lawmakers earlier Wednesday,
said he would "be happy to look at other proposals." He said the life
imprisonment plan - believed to be the strictest in the nation - is
meant to send a tough message to dealers and be used in plea
agreements to break up organized drug cartels.

Vilsack also proposed a wide-ranging plan to fight meth,
including:

* Strengthening the state's crime laboratory by hiring two specialists
to focus on meth testing, hiring a 13-member lab response team, and
hiring 18 drug agents over the next three years.

* Expanding drug treatment programs from two months to four months,
which is intended to help cure addicts from the potent drug.

* Devoting state money to a variety of plans, including after-school
programs to discourage kids from using meth.

* Establishing a training program so employers can recognize and
ultimately prevent drug use in the workplace.

* Developing a long-range plan for solving the meth problem through
education and treatment. Vilsack wants to consider devoting money from
Iowa's share of a major tobacco settlement to this plan.

House Majority Leader Brent Siegrist said the governor's plan seemed
workable, but additional details may be hammered out as the bills are
debated.

Vilsack said the state's meth dilemma won't be solved
immediately.

"It may take several years for us to begin seeing any indication of
success," Vilsack said. "But every single day that we delay, the
chance of actual success lengthens."