ONSLOW COUNTY SPARED METH MENACE - SO FAR

Law enforcement officials don't find many methamphetamine labs in
Onslow County, and the drug is something they occasionally see on the streets.

They want it to stay that way.

But the number of methamphetamine labs found in North Carolina,
especially in the western part of the state, is on the rise, and they
know it's just a matter of time before labs will start popping up in
Onslow County.

It's one of many reasons why Jacksonville police Chief Mike Yaniero
wants there to be regulations on the sale of cold medicine containing
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

The medicine used to stop sneezing and stuffy heads might seem
harmless enough, but when the tablets are crushed and cooked with
chemicals, the drug known as "meth" can be extracted.

"If people are limited in what they can purchase, they will have no
means to make it," Yaniero said.

It's why legislators in the state House and Senate are working to get
a law passed that would allow them to keep tabs on who is buying
over-the-counter cold medicine as well as limit the amount purchased.

People seeking cold medicine containing ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed, would either have to purchase it
from a pharmacy counter in a drug store or at a designated counter in
grocery and convenience stores in much the same way cigarettes are
sold. Photo identification also will be required.

Depending on which version of proposed bills are passed - the state
House measure is a bit more stringent - store owners might need to
provide video surveillance of sale areas for cold medicines, and
there is the potential for civil penalties against retail violators,
according to the Associated Press.

North Carolina is one of 44 states that has either passed or is
considering legislation on cold medicines. Meth got its start in
California and has moved across the country and is now prevalent in
places such as Tennessee and in McDowell and Rutherford counties in
North Carolina. A total of 322 meth labs were busted in the state in
2004 compared to nine in 1999. The SBI is expecting the numbers to
rise this year, according to AP.

In the past three years, a meth lab was found in Newport and in
Havelock. Onslow County hasn't had one, but there have been a few
people arrested in 2004 for possessing and trafficking
methamphetamines, according to Daily News reports.

It's known as the "poor man's cocaine," and it has the potential to
create major problems in a community, Yaniero said.

"Its effects are similar to cocaine," Yaniero said. "But it's much
cheaper because it can be produced locally."

Yaniero, who worked in law enforcement in Tennessee before moving to
Jacksonville in October 2004, is concerned about the drug moving into
eastern North Carolina. He has seen meth labs and the mess they leave behind.

"I saw within a span of a couple of years going from having none in
an area to having much more than I was comfortable with," Yaniero
said. "It's a serious health hazard to anyone who comes in contact
with it, including emergency workers and firefighters."

Meth labs can create explosions, and six pounds of hazardous waste is
generated for every pound of methamphetamines produced. When meth
labs are found, the State Bureau of Investigation is called in to
clean up the site.

The proposed legislation won't prevent drug users from getting meth,
but it is expected it will stop production of it. Onslow County
Sheriff Ed Brown said anything that can be done to keep meth labs out
of Onslow County will be beneficial.

"The legislation will not prevent meth from coming in this direction,
but legislation will reduce the labs it's designed to reduce," Brown
said. "Labs are dangerous. They are dangerous to law enforcement.
They are dangerous to families. They are dangerous to anyone who
steps inside of them."

If the legislation passes, some store owners are expecting it to hurt business.

"I'm against it," said Preston Taylor, owner of the Piggly Wiggly
stores on Henderson Drive and U.S. 258 in Jacksonville. "It will
probably kill the sales of those items in grocery stores. It will
make the prices go up. It will make it more difficult for the people
who really need it to get it."

Rep. Robert Grady, R-Onslow, said he is a Sudafed user and knows the
legislation will make it more difficult for him to get the cold
medication when he needs it. But if it stops the production of meth,
he thinks it's worth it.

"I sympathize with people who use Sudafed for legitimate purposes,"
Grady said. "But methamphetamine is easy to make with fairly common
ingredients. This tries to control it, and I think it is worth the
inconvenience."

Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, said he was concerned for business owners
who will be impacted by the legislation, but the possibility of meth
becoming a problem in eastern North Carolina convinced him it's a law
worth supporting.

"I'm sure for the business owners who sell it that it will be
inconvenient, and I understand that," Brown said. "But this is one of
those drugs that is spreading fast, and we need to get a handle on it
fast. It's one of those tough issues."