STIFFER PENALTIES SOUGHT FOR METH MANUFACTURERS

RALEIGH - A legislative committee Tuesday recommended General Assembly
passage of several bills designed to stiffen penalties for people who make
methamphetamines.

The number of meth labs discovered by authorities, particularly in western
North Carolina, has surged in recent years. State officials, particularly
Attorney General Roy Cooper, have pushed for more equipment, training and
enforcement tools to root out the labs.

With Mr. Cooper in attendance, the committee signed off on four bills that
would increase prison time for people who manufacture the drug or make it
in the presence of children. A manufacturer also could be found guilty of
second-degree murder if someone fatally overdoses on meth they made.

"The penalties for manufacturing very seldom result in any time behind
bars," Mr. Cooper said after the meeting. Sheriffs are "complaining to me
that these meth lab (makers) are back on the streets before the paperwork
is done."

The primary bill, drafted for the committee, would upgrade the felony for
manufacturing meth from a Class H crime to Class C. That would raise the
maximum prison time from about two years to 17 years. Currently, first-time
offenders can receive community service.

Putting more people in prison will lead to less crime, since those addicted
to the drug often are agitated and violent, proponents argue.

The legislation also would allow judges to consider manufacturing the drug
in a home where children are present as an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Two other bills would:

ADD METH to a list of drugs that could carry a second-degree murder charge
for the supplier when a user dies from an overdose. Opium and cocaine are
already on the list.

INCREASE PENALTIES for possessing "precursor" substances that are
ingredients in making meth and other drugs by also upgrading the felony
class. The legislation would also add nine substances to a list of those
that may not be possessed with the intent of using them to manufacture drugs.

Many substances used to make meth can be found in discount stores,
including cold tablets. Retailers are working with state and local
officials to monitor consumers who purchase large amounts of the ingredients.

Members of the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control and Juvenile
Justice Oversight Committee were generally supportive of the measures.

Some had concerns that the tougher penalties could place greater demands on
the already-overcrowded prison system.