STATE'S DRUG CZAR FAVORS 'PLAN B' FOR SOME YOUTHS

JACKSON - Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton is taking an
unconventional approach to his job, giving some young drug users a
chance to straighten out their lives rather than face criminal charges.

"There's a big gap between what's legal and what's right," Melton said
Tuesday to The Associated Press staff in Jackson.

He said the trade of methamphetamine, crack and other illegal drugs
has reached a crisis, putting people's lives in danger.

"I'm going to do what I think is in the best interest of the people of
the state of Mississippi, and if y'all get tired of that, get you
somebody else," said Melton, who spoke as part of AP's periodic series
of meetings with newsmakers.

Melton said that while young people trapped by drugs could get a
chance to get back on the right path, those who sell illegal drugs can
expect very different treatment - arrest and jail time.

Melton, 52, is a former television executive known for his blunt
editorials about drugs and crime. He had no law enforcement experience
when Gov. Ronnie Musgrove tapped him to lead the Bureau of Narcotics
in December.

After the state Senate confirmed Melton on Feb. 28, he completed Drug
Enforcement Administration training in Quantico, Va.

Melton said Tuesday that MBN agents are trying to help three or four
Jackson teenagers straighten out their lives after they were caught
with marijuana. He said some are graduating high school seniors.

"I didn't put those kids in jail. I put them on Plan B," Melton
said.

He said under "Plan B," MBN agents check on the young people at odd
hours to make sure they're attending school and are home when they're
supposed to be.

"I've taken away the possibility of them having a criminal record at
17 years old trying to start their lives off," Melton said.

He also said he wants to use flexibility that legislators gave him in
the MBN budget to give pay raises to some agents in the fiscal year
that begins July 1.

He said the starting salary for narcotics agents is about $25,800, and
he wants to raise that to $28,000 so it will be comparable to the
salaries for starting officers at the Mississippi Highway Patrol. New
state troopers are paid $27,334, said patrol spokesman Warren Strain.

Melton said MBN was 41 agents short when he started work in December,
and 11 others have been called up for active military duty. Because
the agency has too little money to hire new agents, he said he wants
to improve working conditions, including salaries, for those on the
job.