NEW, STRICTER LAWS TARGET METH LABS

RALEIGH - Kurt Gohsman has worked with people who have had an addiction to
methamphetamines.

"It's a highly addictive drug, like crack, because it's a stimulant," said
Gohsman, who is now a drug and alcohol counselor in Alamance County. "They
hit harder. The buzz is higher. So it's quick. People become addicted much
quicker."

And, Gohsman said, his experience has shown him that it's more difficult
for people addicted to such stimulants to kick their addiction.

Methamphetamines - also called "meth," "crystal meth" or simply "crystal" -
have become the target of tougher laws over the last couple of years in the
General Assembly. Advocates for stiffer laws argue that the new laws are a
result of meth's highly addictive characteristics, the fact that it can be
cooked relatively easily in homes or apartments and the danger that such
home labs pose to children and neighbors.

"It's worse because it is far more addictive and probably leads to more
violent behavior than other drugs," said Sen. Walter Dalton, D-Rutherford,
who filed a bill this year that would make it more difficult for people to
obtain ingredients used in meth labs. "It's my understanding that a
one-time use can lead to a serious addiction and there is only a 6-percent
cure rate."

Last year, 322 meth labs were busted in North Carolina, said Noelle Talley,
a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's office. So far this year,
223 such labs have been busted.

Statistics indicate that most of the labs being busted are in the mountain
and Foothill counties. Two counties - Rutherford and McDowell - had 43 such
busts last year. Cleveland County had three meth lab busts, Lincoln County
one, Caswell County one, Greene County two, Craven County two and Duplin
County one.

Gaston, Alamance, Lenoir, Jones, Pamlico, Carteret and Onslow counties had
no meth lab busts last year.

Last year, lawmakers approved a bill that increases the penalties for
manufacturing meth. The penalty went from one where prison time wasn't
required to one where people convicted of such crimes will have to serve
time behind bars.

That new law also increased penalties for possessing ingredients used to
make meth and made a person who gave or sold drugs to someone who died from
an overdose subject to a second-degree murder charge.

It increased penalties for such criminals if children lived in the home
where a meth lab existed and added 24 months to such a person's sentence if
a first-responder - a police officer, firefighter, paramedic or EMT - was
injured during a meth lab bust.

This year, pending legislation takes the legal battle against meth even
further. One bill, which has passed the House, would exempt meth-related
crimes from being eligible for expunction from a youthful offender's record.

Another bill, the one introduced by Dalton, would make it more difficult to
obtain a key ingredient - ephedrine or pseudoephedrine - from stores.

Such ingredients are found in over-the-counter cold remedies, such as
Sudafed. The Senate version of the bill would require tablet forms of such
medicines to be sold behind a pharmacist's counter and would require a
photo ID before being dispensed.

The House version would allow more stores to sell the remedy, but would
require that they be kept behind a counter, require training for clerks who
sell the medicine and would mandate that stores have cameras making video
recordings of such transactions.

Attorney General Roy Cooper has pushed for legislation making it tougher
for meth lab operators to obtain the ingredients and likes the Senate plan
better.

"Attorney General Cooper continues to believe that these labs are best
stopped if we put the main ingredient behind the pharmacy counter," Talley
said.

But she said Cooper is willing to work with Senate and House members on
finalizing the legislation.

The restrictions on Sudafed and other medicines containing the ingredient
could mean problems for consumers and businesses alike, said Andy Ellen, a
lobbyist for the N.C. Retail Merchants Association.

Ellen said that even under the House plan, which allows convenience and
grocery stories to continue selling the medicines, some may choose not to
do so.

"The question is whether the restrictions will be economically feasible or
whether the liability is so great that they may not stay in that line of
business," Ellen said.

Putting the meds behind the counter, training clerks and purchasing camera
equipment - which could run upwards of $8,000 - might be too much for some
stores, he said.

"If I am a small, independent grocery store in rural North Carolina, I've
got to make the decision on whether it's worth me staying in that line of
product," Ellen said.

Consumers will not be able to look at the side effects as easily since they
won't be able to stand in an aisle and pull a package from a store shelf,
he said.

"Some people buy a daytime product while they're at work and use a
different product at night that allows them to sleep," Ellen said.

Talley said that the benefits of restrictions on such products outweigh the
hassles.

"The attorney general believes it's a small price to pay for a really
tremendous public benefit," she said.

Talley said that the public would only have a "minor convenience" in
obtaining such cold remedies.

With wide support in both chambers of the General Assembly, stricter laws
regarding ephedrine and pseudoephedrine appear likely.

"North Carolina certainly doesn't want to be the state of least
resistance," Dalton said.