STATE'S METH WAR GOES TO THE AIR

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- The war against methamphetamine will hit the Central
Valley airways soon in messages intended to inform the public and enlist
their help.

Gov. Gray Davis said the state needs to develop zero tolerance for meth
production as he announced the series of public service announcements
Wednesday.

"Money by itself is not going to win the battle of methamphetamine," Davis
said. "We need to get more information to the general public and more
information from the general public."

The television spots, which will start airing this month in Kern, Fresno,
Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, seek to educate
people about the dangers of meth and how to help police identify meth labs
and distributors. The ads ask tipsters to call a toll-free number,
1-866-METH-LAB.

One of the ads, which depicts a child, describes how toxic chemicals used
to make meth can harm a person. Children are present in the homes of about
30 percent of labs busted, Davis said.

About 80 percent of all meth manufactured in the United States comes from
California, much of it from the Central Valley, according to state and
federal law enforcement statistics.

The state has spent about $30 million for extra personnel and equipment to
fight meth production, Davis said. Another $30 million has been earmarked
in the next two years, including $250,000 for the public education campaign.

California will also get four new Drug Enforcement Agents to help in the
state's anti-methamphetamine task force, Rep. Cal Dooley, D- Visalia, said.
Agents who had previously been assigned to area were pulled after Sept. 11
events to help fight terrorism, Dooley said.