THE NEXT STEP AGAINST METH

A single law won't spare North Carolina from the ravages of a cheap
and vicious drug. But the new law limiting the sale of its key
ingredient - obtained from a cold remedy - was a good start.

Now it's time to tackle the demand for methamphetamine. Discouraging
amateurs from making it close to home merely invites dealers to
import it from elsewhere.

As it spread across the country, meth wrecked lives, endangered
children, spawned violent crime and left poison in the environment.

Rural areas tend to be particularly hard hit. So it's no surprise
that in these parts, the worst problems are being found in Harnett
and Sampson counties.

The chairman of the Sampson meth task force has put his finger on the
basic problem. It's not enough, he says, to fight it "with handcuffs
and guns. We're not treating the disease. We're simply locking it
away for a while."

Prevention and treatment may be even harder than arresting makers,
sellers and users. But the surest way to discourage the presence of
meth is to keep people out of its cruel grip.