COOPER MOVES TO TOUGHEN STATE METH LAB PENALTIES

Illegal methamphetamine manufacturers could soon face more jail time,
possibly slowing the turnaround that sees convicted meth cooks often back
out and back in business less than a year after being busted.
A bill to increase the penalties for methamphetamine production was
introduced in the General Assembly on Tuesday. The bill came after N.C.
Attorney General Roy Cooper delivered a final report on combating the spread
of illegal drug labs earlier this month.

The bill significantly toughens the potential sentence for meth
production, making it a Class C felony. According to 24th District
Attorney Jerry Wilson, that would carry a sentence of between four and
20 years, depending upon aggravating factors and prior
convictions.

It would also mean an automatic jail sentence rather than a suspended
sentence.

Wilson, who read an earlier draft of the bill, said he would welcome
the tougher laws. Illegal production of methamphetamine, a Schedule II
drug resulting in a Class H felony charge, currently carries a penalty
of up to one year in prison.

"If it's close to what I read in the draft, I'm perfectly happy with
it," Wilson said. "This gives us a real weapon we can truly use in
fighting the meth labs."

Wilson has attempted to bring tougher sentences by adding additional
charges in meth lab cases. He used a "weapon of mass destruction"
charge against several meth manufacturers, though the charges were
later thrown out by the court.

The new law would also add meth to the list of substances which could
lead to a murder charge if the distributor of the drug "proximately
caused" a user's death.

Another significant element of the bill adds an aggravating factor to
any meth charge if children are present in the home, or are endangered
by exposure to the drug, its ingredients, its by-products or its waste.

Possession of precursor chemicals for illegal manufacturing would move
from Class H to Class F felonies, which mean tougher potential
penalties. The bill also would add 11 substances to the designated
list of precursor chemicals.

Cooper held the state's first summit on meth last fall. Cooper's final
report was delivered to the General Assembly on May 5.

It said, "These secret drug labs put our children and our communities
on the path to violence and destruction. We're telling this criminals
that we will find your secret labs, we will bust them up and we will
put you in jail."

The report said meth is threatening to overwhelm the state's law
enforcement, social services, public health facilities and courtrooms,
as well as posing a threat to public safety.

"In 1999, the first year that meth labs were reported in North
Carolina, State Bureau of Investigation agents busted 9 labs," said
the report. "That number has skyrocketed, with agents shutting down
177 labs in 2003 and 108 labs so far in 2004."

Watauga County is a meth hotbed.

According to SBI statistics, there were no meth responses here in
2001, and five in 2002. Last year there were 34 meth lab busts or
investigations. So far this year, investigators have conducted 18 meth
lab busts.

The report also supports public education efforts about the dangers of
meth, saying the public needs to recognize meth labs and that
prosecutors need help in the war on meth.

Specific recommendations are: a public awareness effort with videos,
brochures and a web site so people can learn to identify and report
labs in their community; specialized training so landlords, hotel and
motel workers and garbage collectors can spot lab materials; and
training for prosecutors in handling meth-related cases and how to use
existing environmental laws to bring additional charges.

Other steps are to limit the sales or theft of over-the-counter
medicines that contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient
in meth. That includes videotaping aisles where the products are sold
or keeping them behind a counter, and training store employees and
management to report suspicious purchases.

The report also calls for better training and equipment for fire
fighters and emergency workers, more SBI resources, help for social
service agencies that find themselves bearing the brunt of caring for
children found in meth homes, and more treatment for meth addicts. The
report recommends developing a medical protocol for health care
workers who treat patients exposed to meth labs and that statewide
guidelines for cleaning up homes contaminated by meth should be put in
place.

Methamphetamine labs have also been found in apartments, motel rooms
and vehicles. The labs are highly toxic and can explode or catch fire.

Signs of a lab may include empty blister packs of decongestants, glass
cookware and a strong chemical odor. A number of other household items
might be used in meth production.

The General Assembly is in its short summer session. If passed, the
bill would take effect on Dec. 1.