DRUG CZAR TALKS METH SHOP WITH OFFICIALS

The director of the White House drug policy office met with Asheville
officials Tuesday to discuss how to fight methamphetamine problems in
Western North Carolina.

John P. Walters, director of the White House Drug Policy Office, said
Tuesday during a news conference in Asheville with U.S. Rep. Charles
Taylor, law officers, the mayor and the county manager that officials
should emphasize tightening U.S. borders to prevent drug trafficking,
implementing random drug testing in schools, and expanding treatment for
addicts.

"We have put a number of federal grants to work with faith-based and
health-based organizations to help people," Taylor said. "We don't have a
national police force. We struggle everyday because we don't have unlimited
money. We can't provide all of the jails needed or the law enforcement
needed to tackle this problem."

Walters commended the way the media has depicted meth issues.

"At the time when cocaine was a major problem, it was glamorized," he said.
"With meth the media has been factual and stated that it is an ugly and
dangerous drug."

Restrictions on the sale of cold medicines with ingredients used to make
meth have helped several states, including North Carolina, significantly
reduce the number of meth labs broken up by law officers, government
officials say.

But officials say gains made by shutting down local meth labs in recent
years are now threatened by trafficking from superlabs in California and
Mexico.

Walters also said the federal government supports expanding random drug
testing at schools, an existing program that would remain voluntary. He
said research shows that youth who don't use drugs and alcohol are less
likely to get hooked after age 20.

"We can change this problem in a durable way for years and years by
reducing exposure to young people," Walters said in an interview with the
Associated Press.

Meth addiction often leads to psychotic or violent behavior and brain
damage. People high on the drug will often stay awake for days at a time.
If the drug abusers are parents, children can be left to care for themselves.

Walters said his office supports significantly boosting federal money for
treatment programs.

The Bush administration has been criticized for a budget proposal that
would slash federal spending for state and local law enforcement to fight
meth. Walters said the administration is trying to make the grants more
flexible to help the fight against terror and drugs.

Production of meth began in the western U.S. before spreading east. North
Carolina's foothill and mountain counties have been particularly hard hit
by the drug. In 1999, nine meth labs were found in North Carolina but that
number climbed to 177 in 2003. The following year, 322 labs were found and
328 were discovered in 2005.

There has been a sharp decline in the number of meth labs found this year,
which North Carolina officials credit to a seven-month-old state law that
limits the sale of cold medicines with ingredients used to make the drug.

The state Bureau of Investigation counted 139 seizures of meth labs from
January to June of this year, compared with 207 during the same period last
year.

A similar federal law takes effect next month.