LAWMAKERS UNVEIL NEW BILLS TO FIGHT METH SCOURGE

LANSING, Mich. -- After passing laws to fight the illegal production
of methamphetamine, state lawmakers are turning to the drug's
devastating aftermath.

Legislators will outline bills Monday that would establish statewide
criteria for cleaning up meth labs and allow meth offenses to be used
in determining child custody cases.

Meth labs in homes and vehicles often are hazardous waste sites. Meth
users are more prone than other drug abusers to neglect and abuse
their children, experts say.

Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said children live in about 80
percent of meth labs found in homes, where they can inhale or swallow
toxic ingredients.

"We need to start procedures right away to terminate the custody of
these children and get them into a safe place," he said.

Jones, along with lawmakers from southwestern Michigan -- the state's
hotspot for meth problems -- will unveil the legislation at a
Kalamazoo press conference.

"This is the next step in the war on methamphetamine," said Sen.
Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck.

Birkholz and Jones sponsored a law that took effect in December
making it harder to buy Sudafed, Claritin-D and other
over-the-counter cold tablets containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine
- -- the key ingredient used to "cook" meth.

A statewide standard for meth cleanup would help real estate agents,
motels, and home and car buyers know that every makeshift lab has
been cleaned using the same rigorous guidelines, Birkholz said. She
also worries that a federal pot of money for cleanup in Michigan is
running out, though it was unclear whether lawmakers will propose
additional spending to fight meth.

Officials busted at least 250 meth labs in Michigan last year, up
from 209 in 2004. Just three labs were seized in 1997.

Other bills in the package would allow longer probationary periods
for people convicted of meth crimes; encourage school districts to
educate teachers, administrators and students on detecting meth use
and production; and clarify that suspicion of meth exposure is a
symptom of child abuse and must be reported.

Officials in counties with significant meth problems say foster homes
are overrun by children whose parents were addicted to or making meth.

Jones, a former Eaton County sheriff, said the law limiting the sale
of cold medicines is having an effect. Jones said he has heard from a
pharmacy, which had battled rampant theft of pseudephedrine-based
products, that is now earning a profit on cold pills.