CALDWELL HOSTS NATIONAL DRUG CZAR

Law enforcement officials from across the 10th Congressional District
gathered in the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office Tuesday to provide
input to the director of the White House drug policy office John
Walters and U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., about federal drug
policy relating to the methamphetamine problem in western North Carolina.

A recent state law put ephedrine and pseudoephedrine behind the
counters in North Carolina and made it more difficult to set up local
labs to produce meth. But now meth is coming into the nation and
western North Carolina from Mexico, said Walters and McHenry.

During a closed door meeting from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Walters,
McHenry and law enforcement officials discussed what methods are
working in the war on meth, and what resources law enforcement need to
continue the fight.

"You have been hard hit by meth in this area. Meth continues to be a
serious problem here," Walters said during a press conference after
the meeting. "Our goal was to learn from (local law enforcement) how
those resources are doing, how effective they are in their hands and
how we can adapt them."

Walters said the federal government's role is to provide funding and
coordinate the efforts of law enforcement at the federal state and
local level. Walters is the Director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy and coordinates all aspects of federal
drug programs, policy and spending.

McHenry invited the federal official to Caldwell County as a follow-up
to a similar Sheriff conference in February 2005 and a Congressional
Hearing on April 2006 in Caldwell County where many of the same
officials gave input on the meth menace.

"This roundtable will bring together national and local leaders to
develop successful strategies for stamping out meth in western North
Carolina," McHenry said.

McHenry said federal policy makers realized that the federal
government isn't nimble enough to deal with treating meth addicts.
Current policy may help arrest and punish users, but they are still
users when they get back on the streets, and so the demand is still
there for meth.

"People need to have treatment when they come out," McHenry said. "You
have to have drug courts."

Drug courts handle cases involving drug-addicted offenders through an
extensive supervision and treatment program, according to the
according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
Web site. In exchange for successfully completing the program, the
court may dismiss a person's original charge, reduce or set aside a
sentence, offer some lesser penalty, or offer a combination of these.

If treatment isn't addressed, the demand remains.

"Now there is importation of Mexican (meth) coming up into western
North Carolina," McHenry said.

In addition to drug courts, Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark and
Rutherford County Sheriff Phillip Byers said law enforcement discussed
increased interdiction, treatment and possible random student drug
testing with the Drug Czar.

"We have more addicts than ever, so we are looking at intervention, a
way to treat the addicts," Byers said. "We need to look at treatment
so we can have the people who are now addicted back to normal."

Clark agreed with Byers and added that education is very important and
drug programs like D.A.R.E. should move with students from middle
school into high school to remind students of the danger of drugs.

He wants to do more research on the issue, but Clark said that
non-punitive random student drug testing could help school and law
enforcement officials identify any possible issues early and react
with treatment.

"I think a lot of questions need to be answered," Clark said about
random student drug testing. "But I think it is a very good idea."

Clark, Byers and the other law enforcement officials, as well as
McHenry and Walters, also stressed that controlling meth and many
other drugs must start at the U.S./Mexican border.

"We have an enormous problem in the U.S., because we have a porous
southern border," McHenry said. "It's a potent and terrifying issue
when it comes to illicit drugs."

McHenry said Mexican meth comes into the country and then in many
cases into western North Carolina through Atlanta, Ga.

"We must enforce our laws when it comes to border control," McHenry
said.

To be able to develop effective border control policy, Walters said
the nation and policy makers must overcome years of the mentality that
"We don't really care about our border."

"We are going to be able to maintain the legitimate trade and movement
of people, but increasingly stop those that are dangerous," Walters
said. "That's an opportunity that's within our grasp."