FEDERAL DRUG CZAR VISITS AREA, FOCUSES ON METH

John Walters, director of the White House drug policy office, says
strategies that have effectively curbed the use of methamphetamine in
Western states should start working in this region too.

Walters visited Asheville this week and talked about the progress made
in Western states to combat use of the drug.

He said meth use has declined more than 30 percent nationwide among
young people and incidents involving local drug labs have taken a
sharp downturn. Most of that progress he said was in Western states,
which have put in place strong restrictions on the sale of cold
medicines containing ingredients to make the drug. The areas also
benefited from a federal operation against Canadian black market
imports and improved access to meth-specific treatment, he said.

North Carolina adopted a law seven months ago to limit cold medicine
sales, and state officials say they are seeing an impact.

The N.C. Bureau of Investigation counted 139 meth lab busts from
January to June this year, compared with 207 during the same period
last year.

State officials say they hope the numbers mark a reversal in the
recent trend toward more meth labs. The state found nine meth labs in
1999, and the number climbed to 177 in 2003 and 328 in 2005.

Walters said the next steps will be tightening U.S. borders to prevent
drug trafficking, voluntary random drug testing at schools and
expanded treatment for addicts.