EAST KENTUCKIANS RALLY FOR ANTI-DRUG LEGISLATION

Measures Target Meth Ingredients

FRANKFORT - An estimated 1,500 Eastern Kentuckians poured into the Farnham
Dudgeon Civic Center yesterday to rally for pending legislation that could
crack down on illegal drug use.

The crowd, which arrived in Frankfort in school buses, church vans and
caravans of cars, cheered as elected leaders called for passage of Senate
Bill 63 and House Bill 343.

"It's a new day in Kentucky," said U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, who founded and
has provided $24 million in federal money for Operation UNITE, an anti-drug
organization in 29 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky. "We're not
going to stand by and let drug dealers control our communities any longer."

The Senate bill, approved by that chamber on Friday and awaiting House
committee assignment, deals with methamphetamine, a highly addictive and
dangerous stimulant.

Among other things, SB 63 would require government-issued identification,
such as a driver's license, of anyone buying cold tablets containing
pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in meth.

It would also limit the quantity of such medicine that could be bought at
one time; make it possible to prosecute people for producing meth even if
they don't have all of the ingredients in their possession; and make it a
crime to produce meth in the presence of children.

The House bill, awaiting action in the House Judiciary Committee, would
require Internet pharmacies to be licensed by the state. And it would help
police and prosecutors target the sale of addictive pain-killers over the
Internet.

Standing in the crowded civic center, Ron Maharrey, pastor of McKee Baptist
Church, said meth has overtaken painkillers as the worst-abused drug in
Jackson County. Maharrey said his church provides space for an addiction
recovery program, giving him a stark look at the problem.

"Meth has gotten pretty bad," Maharrey said. "We're told that they've
knocked out 30 meth labs just in our county. For a county of 13,000 people,
that's a pretty big number."