SENATE GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO ILLEGAL-DRUG TAX BILL

North Carolina's tax on cocaine and other illegal drugs will drop to what
legislators hope are constitutionally acceptable levels with the Senate's
final approval of a bill Thursday.

The measure, already approved by the House, now goes to Gov. Jim Hunt for
his signature.

"The controlled substances tax has been a major asset in North Carolina's
war on drugs," said Charles Wilkins, executive director of the North
Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police.

"One of the good things about it is that it has paid for a lot of drug buys,
vests, radios and other equipment," he said after the Senate approved the
bill 41-3. "Basically, the drug dealer is paying for the equipment to help
stop his illegal activities."

The tax, which has raised $40 million for law enforcement agencies since it
was first imposed in 1990, was declared unconstitutional by the 4th U.S.
Circuit of Court of Appeals in January.

The judges said the excise taxes charged in North Carolina were too high and
amounted to a second punishment for the same crime, a violation of the
Constitution's injunction against double jeopardy.

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month refused to hear the state's appeal
of that ruling.

Under the revised tax schedule, which lawmakers hope is low enough to pass
court scrutiny, cocaine will be taxed at $50 a gram, rather than $200 a gram
under the old law. Other drugs sold by weight will continue to be taxed at
$200 a gram. The law requires drug dealers to buy tax stamps for their
products from the Department of Revenue. After a drug arrest, revenue agents
check seized contraband for tax stamps.

If there are none, the dealer is charged the taxes and a penalty.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst