Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 2004
Source: Watauga Democrat (NC)
Copyright: 2004 Appalachian Technologies, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wataugademocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2322
Author: John O'Dowd
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

STATE REPORT TARGETS TAKEDOWN OF LABS

The North Carolina Methamphetamine Summit has released its preliminary 
report and the findings and recommendations will be presented to the 
General Assembly for action.

The summit, convened by N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, was made up of 
more than 200 policymakers; business leaders; local, state and federal law 
enforcement representatives and instructors; non-profit, health and 
political figures.

The report and findings will ask the General Assembly to take steps to stem 
the tide of a problem cresting in the mountains and rolling east to break 
on the beaches of the Outer Banks.

Watauga County currently holds the state record at close to 25 percent of 
the 177 meth labs busted in 2003. Sheriff Mark Shook said that this is by 
no means a mountain problem. He has said that if a county in the state has 
not reported a meth lab bust it is because they haven't found them yet.

The full preliminary report of the N.C. Methamphetamine Summit may be found 
online by clicking the head "Important News" at: www.jus.state.nc.us In 
brief, the report contains the following findings:

In general

. Meth labs pose significant dangers to the public, the environment, and 
first responders.

. Each lab produces a toxic waste site, and the labs frequently explode or 
cause fires.

. Prosecutors and law enforcement officers have described how the 
proliferation of meth labs has strained the resources of the sheriff's 
department, the social services department and local prosecutors.

Specific Findings:

. State laws are insufficient. Law enforcement and prosecutors have had a 
hard time getting active prison time for meth manufacturers. Under current 
state law, meth manufacturers who have no past criminal record generally 
receive a suspended sentence with probation.

. Current state law provides stiffer penalties for those who sell meth than 
for those who actually manufacture it.

. Meth is cheap and easy to make. It produces a large profit margin for 
those who sell it.

. In 2003, approximately 25 percent of North Carolina homes with meth labs 
were found to have children residing in them.

. The meth problem will overwhelm our ability to respond if steps are not 
taken. This fast-growing illegal drug problem has already stressed our 
resources, but it has the potential to overwhelm North Carolina's 
judiciary, law enforcement, social services and public health facilities.

. Meth differs from drugs like marijuana, heroin and cocaine because the 
very production of the drug causes severe environmental damage. Meth cooks 
frequently dump the toxic by-products of their work into sewer systems, in 
the state's waters or along roadsides. The production of one pound of meth 
creates five to seven pounds of hazardous waste. The average cost to 
taxpayers to clean up a lab runs between $4,000 to $10,000.

. Contaminated belongings must be destroyed and replaced. A child must go 
through a decontamination process. Sometimes a child must be placed in 
foster care because they must be removed from their home. In Tennessee some 
five hundred children have been placed in foster care in the past few years.

. Public awareness about the meth problem remains low. Unique groups 
involved - retailers, farmers, realtors, physicians, social services, even 
many law enforcement officers - don't know how to identify a meth lab and 
are uninformed about the dangers of making and using the drug.

. More than 400 local law enforcement officials and detectives have been 
trained at three-day workshops that teach them how to manage meth 
investigations.

. Cooper announced grants to Watauga, Ashe, Johnston and Harnett counties, 
four of the counties that have been among the hardest hit by meth. The 
grants will make medical screenings available for children found at meth 
labs and will provide additional funds needed for social service workers 
and law enforcement officers.

The lessons learned from these four counties will be used to develop a 
statewide protocol for treating children who have been exposed to meth 
manufacturing.

Recommendations

. Enhance penalties for the manufacture of methamphetamine. The General 
Assembly should also enhance the criminal penalty when a child is present 
or otherwise endangered by exposure to meth.

. Stiffen penalties for possession of precursor chemicals.

. Enhance penalties for providers of methamphetamine when a fatal overdose 
occurs. The General Assembly should consider adding methamphetamine to the 
list of controlled substances that can trigger a charge of second-degree 
murder when the provided drug causes an overdose death.

. Educate the public about the growing meth problem. The Attorney General 
should coordinate a statewide awareness campaign using informational videos 
and materials to highlight the impact of the meth problem on children, the 
environment and taxpayers. The awareness campaign should include the 
development of a web site to provide the public with information about 
meth. The State should also mail pamphlets about the meth problem and the 
statewide awareness campaign to community organizations, churches, and 
local agencies.

. Work with retail merchants to monitor and limit the sale of precursor 
chemicals.

. Train targeted individuals to recognize the signs of a meth lab. Farmers, 
garbage collectors, hotel and motel workers, landlords and others should be 
educated about the meth problem and trained in how to detect possible meth 
labs.

. Convene a conference to develop and disseminate technical assistance to 
social service agencies. Social workers need more information and tools to 
fight the battle against meth.

. Develop an appropriate medical protocol. The medical community needs to 
be trained to respond to individuals who have been exposed to chemical 
contamination from meth labs.

. Support the development of statewide guidelines for the decontamination 
and re-occupancy of meth lab sites. Currently the state has no standard 
plan of action governing reuse of structures that have been associated with 
meth labs. The state should support the development of decontamination and 
re-occupancy guidelines that are being drafted by the North Carolina 
Department of Health and Human Services.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom