CRYSTAL METH BILL PASSES THE HOUSE

Manufacturing Of Drug With Children Near Could Result In Enhanced Penalties
Under House Bill.

JACKSON - Mississippi would be the first state in the country to subject
people convicted of breaking the crystal methamphetamine laws in the
presence of children to enhanced penalties.

Crystal methamphetamine is a strong stimulant that has become popular
because it is relatively inexpensive to make with ingredients bought at
drug stores and even at agriculture supply stores. The drug has become
particularly popular among rural whites, according to a recent article in
the New York Times.

"I would call it the Number 1 drug problem in rural America,'' Asa
Hutchinson, administrator of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration,
said in the New York Times article.

Mississippi Rep. Jay Eads, D-Oxford, said the enhanced penalties are needed
because children were present at 90 percent of the crystal methamphetamine
labs discovered in the state this past year.

"Typically the parent involved in this is in the 18- to 35-year-old age
range,'' Eads said. "So you are dealing with very young children being
around while this is prepared on the kitchen stove. The children could be
in close proximity, maybe getting something out of the refrigerator.''

Eads said this is particularly troublesome because 13 labs were discovered
in Mississippi in 2001 when they exploded. Plus, the fumes associated with
the making of the drug could be damaging to children, causing more ills the
state might have to treat at a later date.

Under Eads' bill, which passed the House Friday, a person arrested on
crystal meth charges with children present could be subject to double
penalties. For instance, a person charged with the manufacturer of the drug
already could be subject to a maximum prison term of 30 years. That could
be doubled if Eads' bill becomes law. A person who steals or purchases the
chemical needed to make the drug could face five years in prison under
current law.

"To me we would be establishing the standards for the rest of the nation
with this bill,'' Eads said. Several years ago numerous states, including
Mississippi, passed legislation to enhance penalties for the sale of drugs
near schools.

The bill will not be considered by the Senate.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics investigated 687 crystal meth cases in
2001.