JERGENS, BLACK ON HAND FOR METH BILL SIGNATURE

When Toole County Deputy Jeff Jergens watched Governor Brian Schweitzer
sign SB 166 into law in Helena on Thursday, March 31, he knew the bill
would give law enforcement a tool to help with the ongoing war against
methamphetamines. But there is a long way to go.

"This bill began after I arrested several people who were stealing
anhydrous, one of whom was out on bond from a prior lab case for cooking
meth," said Jergens. "When I confronted him and asked him about the lab, he
snubbed me because he knew it was just a misdemeanor. If it had been a
felony then, he'd have been back in jail, which would have prevented him
from operating the second lab I caught him with."

SB 166 makes the theft of anhydrous ammonia, a key ingredient in
methamphetamines, a felony instead of a misdemeanor. "This is just another
step to get these people into the system a little faster," said Jergens.

Jergens and Toole County Attorney Merle Raph drafted the bill, which had
strong sponsorship by Senator Jerry Black, of Shelby.

"There is no legitimate use for anhydrous ammonia other than for
fertilizer. If those who have anhydrous ammonia aren't farmers, they're
using anhydrous ammonia to cook meth," said Jergens. "SB 166 will get these
people into the system as persistent felony offenders," said Jergens. "It
is just another step to get them into the system as persistent felony
offenders, and it will get them into that system a little faster."

Once the bill was drafted and had sponsorship, Jergens was called to
testify before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in January
and March.

Jergens told legislators of two incidences involving meth ingredients being
"cooked." In Cascade County a deputy inadvertently ran into a cloud of
anhydrous vapors during a foot pursuit. "The deputy has suffered permanent
damage to his respiratory system that will plague him for life. All this
for a misdemeanor crime," testified Jergens.

Lawmakers also learned details about the theft of an anhydrous storage tank
in Cut Bank in which the discharge valve had been left open when they'd
left the area.

"The environmental conditions that morning kept the cloud from spreading
into a nearby residential area, which potentially could have killed
innocent residents," said Jergens before the committees. "If this war is
lost, methamphetamine will change society as we know it."

The bill passed, signed into law on Thursday, with Black, Jergens and his
daughter, Clary, on hand to watch the governor's pen signing the bill into law.

But Jergens is not finished, yet, and his hatred of the drug is palpable.

"We haven't even begun to see the total ramifications of the usage of
meth," said Jergens grimly. "People who use meth can't hold jobs and they
can't raise their kids. Their kids are born addicted to meth, and that's
just two generations affected by this drug. This could get much worse."

The body reacts to the effects of meth for 120 days, making the need for
much more stringent laws and treatment times for those addicted, especially
while offenders are in prison, important. The treatment for meth addiction
needs to last longer than the effects of the drug itself.

Jergens is now pushing forward in support of another meth-related bill. SB
287 will put pseudoephedrine and ephedrine-based over-the-counter
medications behind the counter, which is already being done in Shelby, but
this law would make the practice a statewide law.

"This is probably the most important law that Montana can do to curb the
activities of these people cooking meth," said Jergens. "It will make it
virtually impossible to obtain the base ingredients undetected. Everyone
needs to call local representatives and senators to let them know Montana
is a community in support of this legislation."

Oklahoma began putting the products behind the counter a year ago. "In one
year the clandestine numbers dropped by 80 percent," said Jergens. "The
states surrounding Montana already have this law in place and we need to do
it too or they will all just come here."