Pubdate: Thu, 07 Jul 2005
Source: Hickory Daily Record (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Hickory Daily Record
Contact:  http://www.hickoryrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1109
Author: Jennifer Menster
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

MORE THAN 200 LABS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN STATE THIS YEAR

CONOVER - Tuesday night's methamphetamine lab bust was the first one 
in Catawba County this year.

In North Carolina, it was number 203.

The state is on pace to surpass last year's total number of meth busts.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper feels the new "it" drug is 
a growing problem.

"I don't want North Carolina to become like states in the Midwest 
where they have become overrun by these labs," Cooper said. "North 
Carolina already has more methamphetamine labs than any other state 
on the East Coast."

The first meth labs were reported in North Carolina in 1999. State 
Bureau of Investigation agents discovered nine labs that year. That 
number skyrocketed in 2004, with SBI agents shutting down 322 labs.

While Cooper said the entire state faces meth problems, the majority 
of the labs are in the western part of the state. In the last six 
months, 47 meth labs were found in McDowell County, 25 in Rutherford 
County and seven in Burke County.

Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman said the case in Conover is 
unusual. Usually the problem in the county is possession of the drug 
rather than manufacturing it, Huffman said.

But Huffman said the county is not immune to meth labs. With more 
busts in Watauga and McDowell counties, meth manufacturers are likely 
moving to Catawba County.

Before the matter in the state gets any worse, Cooper hopes lawmakers 
will pass the Meth Lab Prevention Act. The Senate approved the act 
April 28. It is under review in the House. Over-the-counter medicines 
such as Sudafed contain pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, which are 
chemicals used to make meth. If the act passes, people will have to 
sign for these medicines.

Similar laws have been passed in at least seven other states. After 
Tennessee passed the law a few months ago, it saw meth labs decrease 
by 35 percent, Cooper said. He hopes if the act passes in North 
Carolina, the state will have similar success.
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