PARKERSBURG (AP) - More than 100 people have been arrested in Wood County
on methamphetamine charges in the past four years, and prosecutors say many
of those cases have wound up in federal court because state penalties are
too weak.

Since 1998, Wood County authorities have busted 70 meth labs, including 31
labs raided since January.

"The penalties here (state court) are just too minor for the seriousness of
these offenses," said Assistant Prosecutor Jodie Boylen, who handles
drug-related cases in Wood County Circuit Court.

The state penalty for possession with the intent to deliver and for
conspiracy is one to five years in prison. The penalty for manufacturing a
controlled substance is one to 15 years and a $25,000 fine.

Federal penalties can net drug dealers from five to 40 years and fines up
to $2 million. A second offense can mean 10 years to life and fines up to
$4 million.

Delegate John Ellem, R-Wood, introduced a bill during this year's regular
legislative session that would have increased the state penalty for
methamphetamine crimes from five to 15 years. And, the Senate Judiciary
Committee crafted a bill that would have limited the sale of excessive
amounts of products containing ephedrine, a substance found in cold
remedies that is used in the manufacture of meth.

Both bills died, but Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley said she is
confident the methamphetamine issue will be raised again next year.

"Possession of certain, specific ingredients used to make meth should be an
offense. When you find individuals possessing items that are key to the
manufacture of meth, we should be able to charge them for that," said
Conley, who also is chairman of the executive council for the West Virginia
Prosecuting Attorney's Institute.

Conley has pushed for tougher state methamphetamine penalties for several
years, but there was not much interest because the problem was not as
severe in other parts of the state as it has been in Wood County.

That has begun to change. Authorities in Kanawha County say they are
busting more methamphetamine labs this year than in the past.

"In the last six months it has really taken over," said Lt. G.E. Amburgey
with the South Charleston Police Department.

Conley said she expects the state's prosecutors will make a stronger push
for tougher state penalties in the 2003 legislative session.

Parkersburg Police Chief Robert Newell said many meth labs are operated by
repeat offenders who are addicted to the drug.

"They often turn to cooking it because it is so highly addictive. Many of
the ones cooking it are addicted themselves, and that's why we see the
repeat offenders in meth," Newell said.