OFFICIALS PUSH FOR TOUGHER DRUG LAWS

Pitch Aims to Protect Children From Dangerous Meth Labs

State justice officials are pushing for tougher laws to punish people
who operate methamphetamine labs, especially in households with children.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper and Van Shaw Jr., an agent with
Charlotte's State Bureau of Investigation, today will lobby the N.C.
Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission for tougher penalties for
manufacturing meth, including longer prison sentences.

They also will ask for a separate felony child endangerment charge for
making meth in the presence of minors.

"The penalties are really not in line with the danger and the
addictive effects of the drug," Shaw said.

Someone charged with manufacturing or selling the highly addictive
drug could face between seven and 23 years in jail, depending on the
amount of the drug. Most first-time offenders receive probation and
often are arrested again for manufacturing meth, Shaw said.

And prosecutors can't apply North Carolina's child endangerment laws
in meth cases because the laws don't address drug manufacturing, he
added.

If illegal drugs are manufactured in a home with children present, the
parents can now be charged with neglect, said Jo Ann Lamm, program
administrator for the state's division of family support and child
welfare services.

When it comes to meth labs, the Department of Social Services can file
abuse charges if a child receives chemical burns or is hurt during an
explosion or fire, said Karen George, executive director of the N.C.
Association of County Directors of Social Services.

Volatile chemicals used in making meth easily can explode, and the
vapors they give off can cause serious respiratory ailments. At least
74 N.C. children this year have been found in homes with meth labs,
and many of them have tested positive for exposure to the drug, said
Shaw, who oversees the state's clandestine laboratory response program.

"Most kids removed from homes with meth labs are having upper
respiratory problems, chemically induced pneumonia, those type of
things," he said. "When they pick up that pacifier or that bottle, it
could potentially have meth on it."

The stakes are high and getting higher. So far this year, law
enforcement agencies have busted 171 labs, up from 98 in 2002 and 34
in 2001, Shaw said. The SBI expects the number to soar to as high as
400 next year. "Illegal drug manufacturers aren't (just) in foreign
countries anymore. They're in our back yard," Cooper said. "...They're
not going to prison, and they go right back and do it again. (The
proposed law) will send a message that this is not tolerated."

The Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission has to give its approval
before the proposed law goes to the General Assembly in May for review
and sponsorship.

Lawmakers usually cannot introduce new legislation at this point in
the session. But Cooper said they can tack on new laws to existing
documents.

"This issue is so serious I believe the General Assembly will want to
address it," he said.

Supporters include state Rep. Gene Wilson, R-Watauga, whose county has
had more meth lab busts than any other in the state.

"I think there needs to be a stricter penalty," he said. "They're
getting away with it with a slap on the wrist now."

Watauga County has had several serious meth-related incidents this
year. A meth lab explosion in Watauga County seared the lungs and
chest of a volunteer firefighter, who lost 85 percent of his lung
capacity. Also, a baby was taken to the hospital after it drank sodium
hydroxide, or lye, an ingredient used in meth manufacturing. A man
living in the house where the baby was found ran a meth lab and
previously had been arrested twice for manufacturing it.

N.C. Sen. Virginia Foxx, R-Watauga, said she wants to toughen the
rules.

"But I want us to do it in a way that will stick," she said. "I'm very
concerned about this and want not only to make the penalties worse but
want to make sure that anybody who is (hurt), like our law enforcement
or firefighters, are helped, too. I'm really disappointed that our
existing laws can't take care of this."

A legislative committee is reviewing a bill sponsored by Rep. Phillip
Haire, D-Jackson, that would amend drug trafficking laws and make them
tougher. However, the proposal is still a work in progress and likely
won't be addressed until 2005, Haire said.

State and county social services officials are talking with experts to
better understand the problem. They met Thursday to discuss possible
new protocols for dealing with children from homes where meth is
produced and how to protect DSS workers from exposure to potentially
explosive meth operations.

"Not a lot has been put into place because this is so new in North
Carolina," said Karen George, executive director of the N.C.
Association of County Directors of Social Services, which sponsored
Thursday's conference in Asheville.

"The neglect that we're finding in these homes is astronomical," she
said. "No food. Feces on the floor. A large percentage of the children
are sexually abused because there's a strong sexual stimulation among
people strung out on meth."

Dangerous vapors released when people "cook" meth also affect babies
and young children more than adults because they tend to breathe
deeper, more often and have thinner skin, said Dr. Andrew Mason, a
forensic toxicologist based in Boone who met with social workers Thursday.

Young children also are at risk because they have more contact with
objects around them. "They find something on the floor and where does
it go?" he said.

Meth labs cropped up on the West Coast more than 20 years ago, but
only reached North Carolina in the last couple of years, Shaw said.
Western North Carolina is hardest hit.

The drug can be made with easily found household items, such as
ammonia and matchbox striker strips, and gives people a euphoric high
that can last up to 12 hours. Recipes can be found online, and the
drug, also known as ice, speed and crystal meth, can yield a profit of
$2,000 for $600 worth of chemicals.

The new laws could be modeled after child endangerment laws and other
drug laws recently passed in California, Utah and Washington, Shaw
said.

As N.C. officials work on drafting new laws, local authorities already
are receiving help in the form of a $300,000 federal grant. North
Carolina is the first state on the East Coast to receive it.

It will go to local law enforcement and DSS agencies to buy things
such as lab equipment and clothes for children who have been exposed
to hazardous meth ingredients. The money will be distributed to
Watauga and Ashe counties in western North Carolina and Harnett and
Johnston in the east -- the counties hardest hit by meth labs, Shaw
said.

"I think a clear message needs to be sent that North Carolina is first
going to look after the children and ensure that they're taken care
of," Shaw said.

[sidebar]

WHAT IS METHAMPHETAMINE?

. It's a drug that can be produced by mixing common household items
such as cold medicine, red phosphorus (found on the sides of
matchbooks) and anhydrous ammonia (found in fertilizer).

. It can be smoked, injected, snorted or swallowed. It's highly
addictive and can produce a euphoric feeling for up to 12 hours. Users
can become paranoid, aggressive, irritable and anxious.