A GROWING MENACE

On Monday, yet another case in the news put a human face on a growing
threat: in the words of state Attorney General Roy Cooper, "the scourge of
methamphetamine that is sweeping North Carolina."

This time, a Chatham County mother pleaded guilty in Pittsboro to making
the drug, commonly known as meth. Her children, a 14-year-old daughter and
9-year-old son, apparently were central to the investigation, telling
prosecutors that the family traveled to North Carolina from Oregon, making
meth in hotel rooms along the way.

Worst of all, both children -- now in the state's care -- tested positive
for the drug.

It would be bad enough if the children in this case were exceptions to the
rule. But sadly, report Cooper and other law enforcement officials across
the state and nation, situations like this are the rule when it comes to
the illegal business of making meth.

Rising numbers of all-too-similar cases statewide are behind Cooper's call
to regulate sales of common allergy and cold medicines containing
pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the making of meth. Such a measure
won't solve the problem of the drug's alarming growth alone, as Oklahoma's
experience with regulating sales of these products has shown.

Cooper noted in remarks to members of the N.C. Association of County
Directors of Social Services, who met in Greensboro last week, that meth is
"inexpensive and easy to make and access." Labs are typically set up in
homes or hotel rooms.

But the human costs of producing meth, reflected in damage done to children
like those in the Chatham case, make Cooper's appeal to make meth harder to
produce compelling and well worth considering.

He and other proponents of this approach point to Oklahoma, which adopted a
law last year limiting sales of medicines containing ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine to behind the counter in pharmacies. The Oklahoma law also
put limits on the quantity of drugs containing those ingredients that an
individual may buy: no more than 9 grams within a 30-day period.

On one hand, the legislation has had impressive results. The state's Bureau
of Narcotics reports that the number of meth lab busts has dropped by 81
percent since the law took effect last November. But the measure also isn't
without flaws, such as driving prospective meth producers to neighboring
states Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas to purchase large quantities of
over-the-counter medicines.

Oklahoma and eight other Midwestern states reported nearly half of the
nation's meth lab activity in 2002, but North Carolina is catching up. The
number of meth lab busts has grown exponentially from nine in 1999 to 322
in 2004, with 50 already on record this year, Cooper said.

A state law mandating harsher penalties for manufacturing meth is already
on the books. That legislation, effective December 2004, includes
provisions for more jail time if children are on the premises of a meth
lab, or if law enforcement or other public safety workers are injured
during a bust.

For the sake of the state's children, it's time to do more.