COMBATING 'METH'

Winston-Salem Journal Attorney General Roy Cooper's preliminary
recommendations for fighting the spread of methamphetamine are the best
news yet about an issue so far characterized by bad news. His ambitious
recommendations would require a lot of tax dollars, but the drug problem he
and others are fighting is a big one that has been overwhelming law
enforcement and emergency workers.

"It's been said that the first step toward fixing a problem is
acknowledging you have one," Cooper said Tuesday in Raleigh. "And here in
North Carolina, we have a huge problem."

Some officials are saying that methamphetamine could quickly become as bad
a problem as crack cocaine - unless state officials move more rapidly than
they did against crack in the late 1980s. But the challenges presented by
methamphetamine are broader than those presented by crack.

Methamphetamine - also known as meth, crystal meth, speed or ice - is a
central nervous system stimulant that can quickly destroy users, but the
danger isn't limited to them. It's made in crude labs throughout western
North Carolina - Cooper calls Watauga County ground zero for the drug - and
the manufacturing results in toxic fumes and fires that endanger children
at home-based labs. Several firefighters have been injured, at least one
seriously, as the problem has grown.

Firefighters need more money for special equipment. Police and prosecutors,
frustrated by laws that generally give first-time manufacturers suspended
sentences, need tougher laws. Many of Cooper's recommendations are aimed at
the state legislature.

He wants stiffer penalties for those who endanger children while
manufacturing methamphetamine. He wants more training for law-enforcement
officers, firefighters and emergency workers who increasingly find
themselves dealing with this drug. He wants more public awareness of the
problem, so citizens can spot and report labs. And he wants statewide
guidelines for dealing with the hazardous waste left after labs are busted.

This wish list isn't perfect. Cooper's recommendations don't include
treatment for methamphetamine addicts, although he has said that omission
needs to be addressed. He says he wants input from law enforcement and the
public before making his final recommendations. Cooper's role is primarily
law enforcement, but addressing demand needs to be part of dealing with any
drug problem.

And critics will likely say that Cooper, a Democrat, is exploiting the
issue to further his political career. But if the problem is as big as
Cooper says it is, there's plenty of room for Republicans and other
Democrats to grab a piece of it and chip away.