TOUGHER N.C. METH LAB PENALTY BILL GOES TO EASLEY TO BECOME LAW

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The General Assembly agreed Thursday to give police
and prosecutors more weapons against methamphetamine producers,
approving tougher penalties related to manufacturing the drug and
making it in front of children.

For months, Attorney General Roy Cooper and lawmakers in western North
Carolina have sought harsher punishments to close meth labs, which
they say has led to more neglected children and addicted teenagers and
adults.

The chief sponsor of the bill, approved 48-0 by the Senate and sent to
Gov. Mike Easley for his signature, said he hoped the changes would be
a deterrent to manufacturing the drug.

Officials in North Carolina discovered nine meth labs in 1999, but
that number rose to 177 last year. Cooper has said the number could
double last year's total in 2004.

"The penalties have been so light," Sen. Walter Dalton, D-Rutherford,
said after the vote. "I would hope we will see far less of these offenses."

The bill will make people who make meth guilty of a Class C felony, up
from the current Class H felony.

A Class C felony is punishable by up to 17 1/2 years in prison.
Prosecutors have complained that the current crime likely means a
defendant would serve no active prison time on his first offense.

A manufacturer also now could be convicted of second-degree murder if
someone overdoses on meth they made.

In addition, the crime of possessing or distributing of ingredients
used to make the drug would change from a Class H felony to a Class F
felony, punishable to almost five years in prison.

"With tougher laws in place, we'll be able to bust more illegal drug
operations and make sure that criminals who make methamphetamine serve
time behind bars," Cooper said in a statement.

A wide assortment of common household products can be used to create
the highly addictive drug, such as ammonia, lye, antifreeze and the
active ingredient in cold tablets.

Retail outlets already use computer programs to flag large purchases
of such products and alert authorities if meth production is
suspected. The bill would make immune from civil or criminal liability
stores that call in a problem and are involved in a "Methamphetamine
Watch Program" approved by the state Justice Department.

The measure also will raise punishments for anyone who makes meth
while a child is present. Since meth is often made in residential
homes, social service workers say they're finding scores of children
living next to the labs, which can cause health problems or even explode.

The bill also will require state health workers to determine when a
building used for meth production could be occupied again.