METH BATTLE MAY GET MONEY

FOREST CITY -- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., announced $168,000 as part
of an appropriations bill for the Asheville Metro Area Methamphetamine
Laboratory Enforcement Initiative.

"This is an important step in the fight against meth in Western North
Carolina," said Dole in a press release. "Methamphetamine, as well as the
process by which it is made, is dangerous and deadly. I am proud to support
efforts to stop the rapid spread of this pervasive drug."

The project is designed to help law enforcement agencies in Western North
Carolina improve the way they investigate, process, and shut down meth labs.

The project funding will be used for enforcement, enhanced technology and
equipment and training for law enforcement and relevant community groups.

Moreover, this will help the entire state by reducing the case load at the
Raleigh lab, which has been handling all the state's lab seizures,
according to the release.

"We hope to use the money to help pay for our drug officers who work a lot
of overtime to fight meth," said Rutherford County Sheriff's Chief Deputy
C. Philip Byers. "It will certainly help to offset our overtime pay costs."

Dole also is a cosponsor of a bill to combat meth which has been approved
by the Senate as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science
Appropriations bill, that would limit meth producers' ability to obtain
pseudoephedrine.

The bill must pass the house and the senate before going to the president
for his signature.

Methamphetamine is a central nervous stimulate that is made from ephedrine
or pseudoephedrine. It is stronger and lasts longer than cocaine or crack,
according to the SBI.

SBI Special Agent Van Shaw has said that children taken from homes where
the drug is manufactured often test positive for the meth use. He said that
the chemicals seep into their skin and their respiratory systems and that
they can become addicted simply from exposure.

Last year, more meth labs were uncovered in Rutherford County than in any
other county except McDowell and more children, 25, were taken from homes
with meth labs here than in any county in the state.

The drug is highly addictive and can be very cheap because a lot of people
make it for themselves.

Rutherford County has seen a sharp increase in the number of meth lab busts
over the last four years. 38 labs were busted in 2004 and 25 children were
taken from homes where the drug was present.

So far this year, 17 labs have been busted and 22 children have been
removed from homes where the drug was manufactured or present.